HE. 


ORLD 


m 


IN  THE 


WILLIAM  E.BARTON 


^#7^"' 


\)<i  vJiUcwwtyAxi^i  - 


I   bM. 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

GIFT  OF 

Carle ton  Shay 


THE  OLD  WORLD  IN  THE 
NEW  CENTURY 


BOOKS  BY  WILLIAM  E.  BARTON,  D.D. 


INK    rSAl.MS  AND    THEIR  STORY 

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THE  OLD  WORLD   IN  THE 
NEW  CENTURY 

BEING  THE   NARRATIVE   OF 

A  TOUR  OF  THE  MEDITERRANEAN,  EGYPT 

AND  THE   HOLY  LAND,  WITH   SOME 

INFORMATION   ABOUT   THE 

VOYAGE  AND  PLACES 

VISITED 


FOR  THE   BENEFIT  OF 

THOSE    WHO    HA\'E    MADE    THE    lOURNEY   AND    WISH    TO 

REMEMBER    IT;    THOSE    WHO   HOPE    TO    MAKE    THE 

JOURNEY  AND  WISH  TO  PREPARE  FOR  IT;  AND 

THOSE  WHO  CANNOT  MAKE  THE  JOURNEY 

AND  WISH  TO  READ  ABOUT   IT 


HV 

WILLIAM   E.  BARTON,  D.  D. 

PASTOR  OF  THE  FIRST  CONGREGATIONAI.  CHURCH,  OAK   PARK,   ILLINOIS 

ASSOCIATE  EDITOR  OF   THE   BIBLIOTHECA  SACRA;     AUTHOR  OF  "THE  PSA1,MS   AN'D  THEIR 

STORY,"    "A    HERO    IN    HOMESPUN,"    "  PINE    KNOT,"    "FAITH    AS 

RELATED  TO   HEALTH,"  ETC. 


Unril    TWO    ]IU.\DRED    A.\D    FORTY    /  LLCSTRA/  fO  \  S 

AfOS?  OF  THEM  MADE  FROM  PHOTOGRAPHS 

ESPECIALLY  FOR    TITTS    WORK 


^ 


BOSTON   AND   CHK  AGO 

Z\)c    p  i  I  g  r  i  w\    p  V  c  t^  i? 

1902 


Copyright,  1902 
BY  WILLIAM  E.  BARTCIN 


R.  R.  DONNELLEY  &  SONS  COMPANY.  PRINTERS 
CHICAGO 


TO   THOSE   WHO   TARRY 
WITH  THE    STUFF 


8^"  rTS29 


PKR  IWININCi    I'D    riLCiR IMAGES 


Accept  lliis  ill  ;icknouli'c.lt;iin'iu  ot  iliy  TrMViiil,  ami  ofjllic  Shriiu'S  thou  hast  visited. 

— Lady  J\(i~veiii},  ill  /-utii/ioe 

Thanno  longon  folk  to  goii  on  I'ilui  images.— C/zi/z/ivv 

Few  ijveat  Pilyriiiis  bcconu'  I'iniiiont  Saints.— yV/owti'.v  liA'ew/'is 

lie  that  on  PiliiiiniaKCS  goetli  ever, 
Becomctli  Holy  late  or  never.— O/*/  I'rorcrh 


Give  nic  my  Scallop  .'>hell  of  Quiet. 

My  Statfe  of  Faith  to  walke  upon. 
My  Scrip  of  Joye,  immortal  dyet. 

My  Bottel  of  Salvation; 
My  Gown  of  Gloria  (Hope's  true  gage!), 
And  thus  I'll  take  niv  Pi!<,'rima^e  ! 

—Sir  Walter  Raleigh 


But  they  knew  they  were  Pilgrims  and  looked  not  mucli  on  those  things.     But  lift  up 
their  eyes  to  ye  Heavens,  their  dearest  Cuntrie,  and  quieted  their  Spirits. 

—Governor  Bradford,  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers 


\o\\  charm  my  heart;    You  quite  delight  it; 
ril  make  a  Tour,  and  then  I'll  write  it 
You  well  know  what  my  Pen  can  do, 
.\nd  I'll  employ  my  Pencil,  too; 
I'll  prose  it  here,  and  verse  it  there. 
And  Picturesque  it  everywhere, — 
With  every  other  leaf  a  Print, 
Of  some  fine  view  in  aqua  tint ! 
Such  is  the  Book  1  mean  to  make. 
.And  I've  no  doubt  the  Work  will  take  ! 
For,  though  your  wisdom  may  decry  it, 
The  simple  Folk  will  surely  buy  it! 

—  The  Tour  of  the  Reverend  Doctor  Syntax 


This  Book  will  make  a  Traveller  of  thee, 

If  by  its  Council  thou  wilt  ruled  be; 

It  will  direct  thee  to  the  Holy  Land 

If  thou  wilt  its  Directions  understand. 

This  Book  is  writ  in  such  a  dialect 

.\s  may  the  minds  of  listless  men  affect: 

It  seems  a  Novelty,  and  yet  contains 

Nothing  but  sound  and  honest  Gospel-strains. 

Would'st  thou  divert  thyself  from  Melancholy  ? 

Would'st  thou  be  pleasant,  yet  be  far  from  folly 

By  reading  these  same  lines  ?  Oh,  then  come  hither, 

-Vnd  lay  my  Book,  thy  Head  and  Heart  together! 

—Prologue  to  Pilgrim's  Progress 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I 

EASTWARD  HO! 

An  ideal  and  a  proposition.  Tiie  cruise  of  the  greatest  ship  aHoat.  What  it  takes  to  feed 
S30  Americans.  Studying  the  passenger  list.  The  Innocents  .\broad.  past  and 
present.  How  it  feels  wtien  the  time  comes.  The  last  composite  shout  of  farewell. 
Reams  of  paper  and  10.000  postal  cards.  Americans  as  tourists.  Passports  and 
cures  for  seasickness.  How  they  stowed  us  away.  The  passing  of  the  diary.  What 
they  do  on  shipboard.  Heart  to  heart  talks  with  Baedeker.  Little  seasickness. 
Don't  crowd  the  gangway 17 

CHAPTER  n 

MADEIRA,  THE  LAND  OF  THE  WINE 

A  surprise  and  a  delight.  The  city  of  Funchal.  The  amphibious  natives.  High  regard 
for  .'\nierican  coin.  The  carro,  yclept  "  the  bully  cart."  Five  dollars  and  up.  The 
European  plan  with  modifications.  The  rear  platform  of  a  table  d'hote.  The 
Casino.  A  smooth  game.  Imports  from  .America.  Do  we  want  any  more  islands? 
Climate  and  courtship.  A  man  who  spoke  English.  Where  Columbus  lived.  .\ 
romantic  story.  .-\  Paradise  of  good  health.  Statistics  for  those  who  want  them. 
Madeira,  a  dream  of  beauty 31 

CHAPTER    HI 

GIBRALTAR,  THE  BRITISH  LION  IN  STONE 

When  there  was  no  Gibraltar.  The  home  of  a  hundred  civilizations.  The  overflowing 'ot 
water  and  of  population.  The  Pillars  ol  Hercules.  The  strife  of  the  Moors  and 
the  Spaniards.  How  the  word  '"  tariff  "  came  to  be.  Gibraltar,  and  the  discovery  of 
.America.  The  American  consul.  Much  depends  upon  the  weather.  The  ridiculous 
hat  of  Tommy  .Atkins.  The  uselessness  of  Gibraltar.  Linia  and  the  bull  ring. 
Great  Britain's  rock  and  ours 46 

CHAPTER    IV 

ALGIERS,  THE  HOME  OF  THE  PIRATES 

Our  various  experiences  in  landing.  Rocked  in  the  cradle  of  the  deep.  The  pliysical 
expression  of  incompetence  .A  perilous  endeavor.  The  breakwater,  erected  by 
Christian  slaves.  .Algerian  hotels.  A  wet  sheet  and  a  flowing  sea.  Washington's 
birthday.  The  history  of  .Algiers.  Cab-diivers  and  interpreters.  A  beautiful  city. 
Its  varied  life.  The  principal  sights.  Entertainments.  The  Boers  and  their 
.\lgerian  sympathizers.    The  pilgrims  to  Mecca,  and  their  greeting 56 

CHAPTER  V 
MALTA,  WHERE  KNIGHTHOOD  WAS  IN  FLOWER 

.A  small,  hut  interesting  island.  Where  Calypso  wooed  Ulysses.  The  scene  of  Paul's  ship- 
wreck. N'aletta  and  its  ama/ing  fortifications.  The  ancient  capital,  Citta  A'eccia,  it^ 
grottos  and  catacombs.  The  history  of  the  Knights  of  .St.  John.  Our  indignation 
meeting.  The  interesting  spots  in  V'aletta.  Lace  and  rtlagree  work.  The  faldetta. 
A  delightful  memory 73 

CHAPTER    VI 

ATHENS,  AND  OUR  HAPPY  VISIT  TO  GREECE 

Living  Greece  a  reality.  The  past  and  present  in  Athens.  A  fJreek  school.  'I'he  .American 
College.  The  Pineus.  and  the  view  from  there.  The  Temple  of  Theseus.  The 
.Acropolis.  No  relic  hunters  need  apply.  Lord  I*".lgin,  and  how  the  Greeks  love 
Inm.  The  Greek  soldier  and  the  .American  girl.  Mars  Hill.  Paul's  sermon  and  its 
results.  Mary  trrj/ztMinerva.  Honey  from  llvmellus.  The  King  of  (jreece,  and 
how  an  .\merican  presented  hinisclf  at  court.  Sailing  the  Bay  ol  Plialeron.  Sunset 
on  Salamis.    The  stowaway.    "  Maid  of  Athens,  ere  we  part." 85 


lo  CONTENTS 

CllAlM'KR   VII 
CONSTAN  riNOPLK,  TUl'.  CROSS  AM)    IIU;  t_  RESCENT 

rill'  unused  stovopipos.  How  one  suttois  with  colli  in  warm  iliniatos.  Distance  leniis 
encliantuu'nt.  Boarded  by  Turks.  A  pile  of  passports.  TJu-  .American  consul- 
general.  Robert  College,  and  the  Ciirls'  College  at  Skutari.  How  we  invaded  the 
old  harem.  By  the  Sultan's  special  permission.  Dogs  in  the  streets.  Moses  and 
Faraway  Moses.  ThcCJalata  bridge.  The  Hippodrome,  and  its  three  noted  monu- 
ments. The  famous  cistern.  .\  subterranean  cathedral.  The  Uw  courts  of  ancient 
days.  Museums  and  mosques.  Saint  Sophi-i.  Turkisli  delii^lit  and  thint;s  un- 
known. The  founding  of  New  Rome.  The  castle  of  Kuniili  llissar.  The  prophecy 
of  proximity.    The  stars  and  stripes  on  the  Castle  of  Oblivion qS 

CHAPTER  VIII 

SMYRNA  AND  EPHESUS 

Smyrna  more  interestini;  than  the  guide-books  tell.  Its  quay,  streets,  crowds,  and  traui-cars. 
How  it  seems  to  be  thought  a  millionaire.  Where  were  Carnegie  and  Rockefeller.' 
The  camels  are  coming.  The  biilliplaces  of  Homer.  The  tomb  of  Polycarp. 
From  Smyrna  to  Ephesus.  Diana  of  the  Ephesi^ns  no  longer  great.  Relics,  ancient 
and  otherwise.     The  girls  from  the  American  school.    Patmos,  and  our  packing..  113 

CHAPTER  IX 

FIRST  IMPRESSIONS  OF  THE  HOLY  LAND 

The  crescent  on  Carmel.  The  famous  Bay  of  Acre.  Our  favorable  landing.  Our  pilot. 
See  Galilee  first.  Our  first  lunch.  Our  dragomen.  Silah  the  righteous.  Harosheth 
of  the  (ientiles.  Beautiful  Galilee.  Our  camp.  The  physical  features  of  Palestine 
Unexpected  beauty  of  the  land 121 

CHAPTER   X 

NAZARETH,  THE  BOYHOOD  HOME  OF  JESUS 

Nazareth  a  good  place  for  Jesus  to  sp<"nd  his  youth.  The  Church  of  the  Annunciation. 
The  ubiquity  of  the  supernatural.  The  shop  ot  Joseph,  real  and  pretended.  Our 
dragoman  on  the  Carpenter  of  Galilee.  Nazareth  industries.  Naife.  Nazareth 
widows.  "The  Madonna-like  beauty"  of  Nazareth  girls.  The  Fountain  of  the 
Virgin 137 

CHAPTER  XI 

AMONG  THE  HILLS  OF  GALILEE 

Early  rising  in  camp.  The  bell-mule.  The  bother  of  having  to  doubt.  The  birthplace  of 
•Jonah.  Cana  of  Galilee.  Sacred  places  in  duplicate.  The  wine  of  modern  Cana. 
Mary,  and  her  portrait.  The  Greek  school.  Christ's  first  miracle.  The  woman  at 
the  mill.  Inside  a  Jewish  oven.  Why  exjilorers  must  dig.  The  fertility  of  the 
plain  of  Esdraelon.  The  battle  of  Hattin.  Tiberius,  its  history  and  present  con- 
dition. Hated  by  the  jews,  and  later  the  center  of  Jewish  learning.  The  fleas  of 
Tiberias.  The  hospital,  and  its  good  work.  How  a  patient  showed  his  gratitude. 
The  Sea  of  Galilee.    A  boat  race.     Possible  modern  apostles 154 

CHAPTER  XII 

A  RIDE  THROUGH  SAMARIA 

Rough  roads.  The  coal-oil  can  versus  the  water-pot.  Nain  and  Shunen.  Two  Bible  women. 
The  home  of  a  witch.  Jezreel,  the  home  of  Ahab.  "Bakshish."  Plowing.  The 
Bible  and  Baedeker.  Absent  luxuries.  "  Oh,  for  an  ice-cream  soda!"  Jenin.  A 
visit  with  the  governor.  The  ladies  of  Palestine,  and  their  costumes.  Dothan,  and 
its  memories  of  ICIisha  and  Joseph.    An  iniiiressive  Sunday  evening 177 

CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  ANCIENT  SAMARITAN  CITIES 

Sabaste.  the  ancient  Samaria.  The  so-called  lost  ten  tribes.  The  lepers  of  Elislia's  day. 
The  Crusader  church;  the  tomb  of  John  the  Baptist.  A  Moslem  school.  Through 
the  fields.  The  difference  between  wheat  and  bread.  "An  enemy  luith  done  this." 
The  ancient  town  of  .Shecheni.  now  Naijlus.  Mounts  l'2bal  and  Gerizim.  Jacob's 
well.  Joseph's  tomb.  .\  survival  among  the  sects.  How  the  refusal  to  desert  a 
wife  founded  a  religion.  The  holy  manuscript  at  Sliechem.  An  interesting  pur- 
chase. Securing  a  treasure.  A  letter  from  Mark  'J'wain.  A  place  where  they  lack 
marriageable  women 189 


CONTENTS  1 1 

CHAPTER   XIV 

SHILOH  AND  BETHEL 

'•  Through  Samaria.''  The  shepherds.  Palestine  villages.  The  old  sanctuary  of  Shiloh. 
Winning  a  wife  in  the  old  da\s.  The  ruse  of  the  old  men,  and  the  daring  of  the 
young.  Shiloh  of  to-day.  The  great  name  and  character  of  Samuel.  Turmus  Aya. 
Collecting  bakshish  from  a  native.  Our  nightly  guard.  Bethel,  where  Jacob 
saw  his  vision.     Bireh.     The  tirst  sight  of  Jerusalem 213 

CHAPTER  XV 

JERUSALEM,  THE  HOLY  CITY 

Our  first  knowledge  of  Jerusalem.  Its  present  condition.  American  citizens,  who  are  also 
citizens  of  Zion.  The  city  walls  and  gales.  The  water  supply.  Jerusalem  at  night. 
A  Jerusalem  calendar.  Commercial  enterprise.  The  Mosque  of  Omar.  The  rock 
of  sacrifice.  Where  Mohammed  ascended  to  heaven.  The  unsupported  rock,  or 
tradition.  "  You  go  to  heaven — halfway."  The  Mosque  of  el-.Aksa.  The  temple 
site.  Christ's  last  day  in  the  temple.  The  stables  of  Solomon.  The  Jews'  wailing- 
place.    The  one  remaining  stone  of  the  teuiple.    Has  Jerusalem  a  mission  ?  221 

CHAPTER  XVI 

JERUSALEM  AND    ITS    ENVIRONS 

The  Holy  Sepulcher.  The  question  about  Calvai  y.  The  New  Calvary,  and  its  unfortunate 
name.  The  journey  around  the  walls  in  Nehemiah's  day  and  now.  Siloam.  The 
valley  of  Jehoshaphat.  Gethsemane,  and  its  frauds.  The  IVIount  of  Olives.  Beth- 
any, the  home  of  Christ's  friends.  Lepers  outside  the  gate.  The  diseased  eyes  of 
the  people.  Religious  philanthropy,  wise  and  otherwise.  The  vision  of  the  triple 
rain  bow 246 

CHAPTER  XVII 

JERICHO,  JORDAN,  AND   THE    DEAD   SEA 

Down  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho.  The  inn  of  the  Good  Samaritan.  The  brook  Cherith.  .\ 
penitentiary  for  priests.  What  a  wilderness  is  like.  The  Jordan  valley.  The 
fountain  of  Elisha.  Modern  Jericho.  The  Dead  Sea.  The  ford  of  the  Jordan;  a 
boat-ride  on  its  turbid  waters.  Joseph's  weird  storv  of  the  hvena.  Back  to  lerusa- 
lem ; " 263 

CHAPTER   XVI II 
BETHLEHEM,   WHERE  ANGELS   SANG 

.A  Christian  village.  Its  fjeople  and  industries.  Tomb  of  Rachel.  The  scene  of  Ruth.  The 
home  of  David.  The  s|)urious  cave,  and  the  genuine.  The  Church  of  the  Nativity. 
Why  Christians  figfit  in  this,  and  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher.  .Xn  over- 
statement corrected.  The  songs  of  children  in  the  cave  of  the  nativity.  The  proof, 
logical  andemotional,  of  the  genuineness  of  this  spot.  Jerome,  and  his  great  work. 
Hebron.  The  oak  ot  Mamre  and  the  cave  of  Machpelah.  A  closing  thought  on 
Bethlehem.     The  star  and  the  song 274 

CHAPTER   XIX 
JAFFA,   THE   ANCIENT  JOPPA 

'I'he  ride  from  Jerusalem  In  rail.  The  plain  of  Sharon.  Lydda.  Jaffa  of  to-day.  The 
pjace  where  Solomon's  material  was  landed.  Wliere  lonah  sailed.  The  house  of 
Simon  the  tanner.  Why  they  disinfected  us.  The  Jews  and  their  cousins,  the 
Phoenicians;  a  contrast  and  a  conjecture.  How  the  Jaffa  boatmen  persuade  their 
passengers  to  contribute.     Farewell  to  Palestine 286 

CHAPTER  XX 

RAPID    TRANSIT    IN   THE    ORIENi' 

.\  few  remarks.  The  camel.  The  roads  of  Palestine.  Preparing  highwavs  for  the  king,  in 
the  olden  limes  and  now.  The  horses  furnished  to  tourists.  The  Palestine  donkev. 
The  gift  of  tongues.  What  Palestine  needs.  Money  in  Palestine.  The  Turkish 
government 2<)!; 


12  CONTENTS 

CllAPri'.K    XXI 
EGYPT,  THE    LAND   OF    THE    Sl'IllNX 

A  contrast  between  siKlilseeinsr  in  Palestine  and  Egypt.  I.andina  at  Alexandria.  I'ompey's 
Pillar.  The  Septuagint.  The  Kosetta  stone.  The  fjeonraphy  of  Kijvpt.  .\ 
reunion  at  Cairo.  The  hotels  of  Ej;vpt.  The  streets  of  Cairo.  The  old  Coptic 
Church.  The  isle  of  Roda.  The  Nilometer.  The  Ferry.  The  water-carrier.  The 
Muskey.  Old  manuscripts  and  Damascus  swords.  Memphis,  l^ithom.  Sakhara. 
.■\  ^Ioslem  anniversary.  Mohammedan  women.  Pharaoh  and  the  trolley.  The 
Pyramids,  by  moonlight  and  by  dav.  How  we  ascended.  A  jjuide  who  could  not 
ask  gratuities.  The  Sphin.x;  the  true  story, of  its  secret.  Memories  of  the  view 
from  Cheops .''ij 

CHAPTER  XXII 

UP  THE  NILE 

liy  rail  or  boat.  Sleeping-cars  in  the  land  of  the  Sphinx.  Toll  el-.\marna  and  its  tablets. 
The  sayings  of  Christ.  A  glance  at  Egyptian  hislorv.  Lux. .r  and  its  temple.  How 
Pharaoh  sat  for  his  portrait.  Street  fair,  .\rabs  and  Nubians.  Relic  factories. 
Monotonous  guides.     .Abdul  and  Never  Tarry.     The  vast  ruins  of  Karnak 34.^ 

CHAPTER  XXIII 
THE  TOMBS  OF  THE  KINGS 

Crossing  the  Nile.  The  hand  of  a  muminv.  Temple  of  Seti.  Biban  el-Muluk.  Egyptian 
theology.  Ushabti  images,  or  "  answerers."  The  tombs.  Our  guide's  farewell. 
Over  the  mountains  alone.  Abdul  as  a  purchasing  agent.  The  temple  of  Hatasu. 
A  victim  of  flattery.  The  Ramesseuni.  The  American  mission.  Ihe  scarab.  A 
contemporary  portrait  of  Cleopatra .377 

CHAPTER  XXIV 
NAPLES,  POMPEH,  AND  VESUVIUS 

Escape  from  quarantine.  Italian  immigrants.  National  Museum  at  Naples.  The  sorrows 
of  an  art  student.  The  aquarium.  The  two  armies  of  Italy.  Pompeii.  The  ascent 
of  Vesuvius.    Eruptions,  ancient  and  modern.     .\  storm  on  the  mountain 402 

CHAPTER  XXV 

ROME,  THE  ETERNAL  CITY 

The  arrogance  of  the  plural.  A  lunch  and  a  midnight  dinner.  Hotels  of  Rome.  Elevators 
and  ice.  A  glance  at  the  history  of  Rome.  Hawthorne  as  a  guide.  The  sights  and 
the  peddlers.  The  holy  fire.  The  Appian  Way.  The  catacombs.  IheguoVadis 
chapel.    The  Fountains.    St.  Peter's  and  St.  Paul's 419 

CHAPTER  XXVI 
ACROSS  EUROPE 

Breaking  up.  Pisa.  Florence.  'Venice.  Milan.  St.  Gotthard.  Lucerne.  A  sleepless 
sleeper.  Paris,  and  old  friends.  Art  up  to  date.  An  international  demonstration. 
More  about  giiides.  The  channel.  London.  The  postponed  coronation.  Parlia- 
ment. How  Dr.  Parker  preached  at  us.  How  a  guide  prolonged  his  lite.  lulinburg. 
Bonnie  Dundee.  Stirling  and  Bannockburn.  Glasgow.  The  Burns  country.  Ihe 
home  of  Carly le '♦•♦° 

CHAPTER  XXVII 
HOMEWARD  BOUND 

A  defense  of  superficial  sightseeing.  The  return  of  the  Celtic.  Hopeful  immigrants.  The 
label  habit.     Preface.    Finis 477 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


19 
2 1 


PAGE 

Jerusalem    from    the    ^Iouxt    of 

Olives Frontispiece. 

The  Good  Ship  Celtic 

The    Library 

The  Promexade  Deck 

"Farewell,   America" 2- 

Where    They     Guessed    at    the 

Speed 2  s 

The    Maix   Saloon 27 

Looking  for  Land 28 

"Don't  Crowd  the   Gangway"..    20 

Proposed  Coat  of  Arms 30    The  Temple  of  Theseus 


PAGE 


Houses  of  Concrete  Roofed 

WITH  Thatch  " 

The  Dive  for  Coin 

The  Trolley  Car   of   Madeira 

A  FuNCHAL  Baby-Cab 

Funchal  Harbor  From  the  Casino 

Madeira  Threshing-Floor 

"Through  the  Town  Rush  Foam- 
ing  Mountain   Streams".... 
"Christopher   Columbo   No    Live 

Here" 

The  British  Lion  in  Stone. 


"Some  Cursed  Us  by  Their  Gods"  69 
An  Arab  School -j 

Where  Paul  Suffered  Shipwreck  7  s 

The  Harbor  of  Valetta ~- 

To.MMY  Atkins  at  Malta 7s 

"It  Seems  Bewitchingly  Unbal- 
anced"   

~.j  ^  /9 

Valetta  as  Seen  from  Ocr  Ship  Si 

The  Chapel  of  Bones g^ 

The  Wharf  of  the  Pir^us 86 

The  Foru.m  of  Demosthenes S-- 

88 


35 
37 
39 
41 

43 

44 
47 
49 


89 


"The  Envy  of  the  More  Timid 
Girls " 

"On  the  Other  Side,  the  Shep- 
herds Kept  Their  Sheep 91 

Where  Paul  Preached  ix  Athens  92 

•  •  •  93 
■  ■  •  95 
...    96 

99 


Modern  Athens 

The  Stadh-.m,  Athens 

Sunset  on  Salamis 

The  Sublime  Porte 

"This  Bridge  Ought  to  Be  Marked 

AS  THE  Center  OF  the  World  "ioi 
"Here    Occurred    Contests    of 

Speed  and   Skill" 


Map  of  the  Cruise 

Gibraltar  from  the  Spanish  Lines  53     Interior  of  the  Mosque  of  Smnt 

Madeira  Peasant  Girls  Spinning  55  ^  Sophia 

The  Public  Garden,  Algiers 57 

"A  Terrific  Sea  Broke,  Snapping 

Our  Bow-line"  -c^ 

Tropical  Foliage,  Public  Garden, 

Algiers 6j 

"A    Street    Boldly    Carried    Up 

Upon  Arches  " 63 

The  Streets  Are  Series  of  Stone 

Stairs" 6- 

From      Unexpected     Alleys 

Emerge    Veiled    Women"...   67 
The  People  Seemed  Glad  to  See 

Us" 68 


10- 


10: 


107 

109 
III 
114 


Mosque  of  Ahmed  I 

RuMiLi  Hissar  and  Robert  Col 
LEGE 

The   Bosporus 

The  Quay  at  Smyrna 

"An  Ancient  City  with  No  Ap- 
pearance OF  Antiquity".  ..  .115 

The  Tomb  of  Polycarp 116 

Ruins  of  the  Temple  of  Diana, 
Ephesus ij- 

The  Gate  of  Persecution, Ephesus  nS 

Church  of  St.  John,  Ephesus no 

Our   Small   I'rLoT 


122 


'4 


I.ISI'   OK    II.I.ISIKA  riONS 


PAGE 

The  Beautiful  Harbor  ok  IIaii  a.  123 

Joseph  the  Eloquent 124 

Sai.eh  the  Giant 125 

"We   Had  All  the   Best  Drago- 
men"   126 

The  Chief  Muleteer 127 

The  Galilee  Lightning  Express.  129 

SiLAH  Stealing  the  Flag 131 

M.w  ov   Palestine 133 

Mount  Carmel 1 36 

Nazareth 1 3S 

Our  Camp  at  Nazareth 139 

Interior  of  Tent 141 

Attempt  to  Photograph  One  Naz- 
areth Girl 142 

Another  Attempt 143 

Naife  of  Nazareth 145 

Girl  With  Water-pot 147 

The  Fountain  of  the  Virgin.  .  .  .149 
Nazareth  from  the  Roau  to  Cana  153 

Cana  of  Galilee 155 

Mary  of  Cana 157 

"Two  Women   Shall  Be  Grinding 

at  the  Mill"    159 

Girl  Carrying  Fuel 161 

The  Village  Oven 163 

Tiberias 165 

Tell     Hum;     Shukrey     in     Fore- 
ground   167 

Landing  at  Khan  Minyeh 170 

Embarking  at  "Seven  Springs".  171 
Traditional  Site  of  Bethsaida.  .173 
The  Wharf  at  Tell  Hum;  Peter, 
James,  and  John  of  To-day  .  176 

"  Bakshish!" 179 

Plowing   in    Palestine 181 

Illegal  Agriculture 183 

Moslem  Women  of  Palestine.  .  .  .  185 

Dothan 187 

Ancient  Samaria  of  To-day 191 

Reading    the    Gospel    Story    at 

Jacob's  Well 193 

Charm  for  "Evil  Eye" 197 

Joseph's  Tomb 199 

Yakob,  Samaritan  High  Priest.  .205 
Leaf  from  Old  Samaritan  Manu- 
script    207 


page 

SaM.VKIPAN   PKNTATKUfll   AND  GENE- 
SIS  211 

Jacob's  Well 212 

"When    He    Puttetii    For  111    llis 
Own  Sin;i':i',  I  In  Goirni  Before 

Them  " 214 

A  Typical  Samaritan  Village.  .  .215 

The  Site  of  Shiloh 216 

Our  Camp  at  Turmus  'Aya 217 

Our  Party  at  Bethel 219 

The    Damascus    Gate    of   Jerusa- 
lem  223 

Inside  the  Jaffa  Gate 225 

Jerusalem  Water-carriers 227 

A  Street  in  Jerusalem 229 

Leaf  from  a  Jerusalem  Calendar  230 

Street  Arabs 231 

Gambling 232 

The  Mosque  of  Omar 233 

The  Unsupported  Rock 235 

The  Mosque  of  El-Aksa 237 

Jerusalem  from  Olivet 239 

The  One  Remaining  Stone 241 

The  Jews'  Wailing  Place 243 

Approach  to  the  Holy  Sepulcher  247 
The  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepul- 
cher  248 

Interior  of  Church  of  the  Holv 

Sepulcher 249 

The  Holy  Sepulcher 251 

The  New  Calvary 252 

The  Shepherd  on  Calvary 253 

The  Mount  of  Olives 255 

An  Old  Olive-Tree  in   Gethsem- 

ane 256 

Bethany 257 

The  Tomb  of  Lazarus 259 

Jerusalem  Beggars 261 

The     Road     from    Jerusalem     to 

Jericho 264 

The  Inn  of  the  Good  Samaritan  .  265 

The    Brook  Cherith 267 

Site  of  Jericho 268 

The  Fountain  of  Elisiia 269 

j  The  Dead  Sea 270 

I  The    River    Jordan;    Dr.    Josiah 

Strong  in  the  Foreground. 271 


I 


LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


15 


PAGE 

A  Sheik  of  Jericho 272 

A  Group  of  Village  Sheiks 273 

"O,  Little  Towx  of  Bethlehem  ".  275 

R.\chel's  Tomb 277 

A  Bethlehem  Family 279 

Resting  on  the  Way  to  Hebron.  281 

The  Oak  of  Abraham 282 

The   Shepherd's   Field 283 

Rapid  Transit  Past  and  Future.  287 

Lydda   289 

Among  the  Rocks  in  Jaffa  HARBOR290 
Courtyard,  House  of  Simon  the 

Tanner 291 

A  Last  Look  at  Jaffa 293 

Off  for  Alexandria 294 

An  Arab  Camp 297 

Riding  a  Camel 299 

This  Way  for  the  Pyramids.  ..  .301 
A  Donkey  and  His  Load  in  Egypt  .  303 

A\Modern  Balaam 305 

Caleel 307 

A  Picturesque  Landing 315 

Pompey's  Pillar 317 

The  Rosetta  Stone 319 

The  Streets  of  Cairo 321 

The  Minaret  of  El-Azhur 323 

The  Old  Coptic  Church 324 

Thf.  Sakieh 325 

The  Xilometer,  Isle  of  R0DA...326 
"A  Twisted  Kind  of  Rag,  and  a 

Goatskin   Water-bag" ,^27 

Cairo   Water-carriers 328 

Bridge  Across  the  Nile,  Cairo.  .329 

An    Egyptian    Woman 330 

The   Road  to  the  Pyramids 331 

ivivpTiAN  Village  Near  the  Pyr- 
amids   :i35 

Climbing  the   Pyramids .335 

Section  of  the  Great  Pyramid.  .  .336 
The    Sphinx    no    Longer    Has    a 

Secret 337 

Excavating  the  Sphinx 339 

Street  Sprinkler 342 

A  Tell  el-Amarna  Tablet.  Letter 

from  the  Governor  of  Tyre. 345 
I'APYRUS  Containing  "Sayings  of 
Jesus" 347 


Map  of  the  Nile 349 

The  Temple  of  Luxor 350 

Statues  of  Rameses  II.  at  Luxor  351 
The   Highest  Obelisks  in  Egypt, 

Karnak 352 

Rameses    II.  as    He   Thought   He 
Ought    to    Look — Statue    at 

Luxor 353 

Rameses  XL  as  His  Mummy  Shows 

Him 355 

One  Wife  of  Rameses  IL — Statue 

AT  Luxor 357 

Native  Nubians 359 

First  Cataract  on  the  Nile.... 361 

Temple  of  Isis  at  Phil^ 361 

Approach  to  the  Temple  at  Kar- 
nak— Avenue   of  Sphinxes.  .363 
Portal  of  Euergetes  IL — Abdul 

in  Front    365 

Columns — Temple  of  Khons 367 

Ram-headed  Sphinxes — Temple  of 

Karnak 369 

Columns — -Temple  of  Karnak... 371 

Shishak  and  His  Captives 372 

Hypostyle    Hall — Temple    of 

Esneh 373 

Temple  of  Edfu 375 

Ruins  at  Karnak 376 

Our  Party  Crossing  the   Nile.. 379 

The   Mummy  of  Seti   1 380 

Festival  Scene  from  the  Walls 

of  a  Theban  Tomb 383 

The  Judgment  of  Osiris 385 

Entrance  to  the  Tomb  of  Seti  1. 387 
Vestibule  of  the  Tomb  of  Ram- 
eses VI 389 

Seti  Offering  Wine  to  Osiris.. 391 
Tombs    of    the    Kings    from    the 

Mountain  Top 392 

The  Temple  of  Hatasu 395 

The  Ramesseum 397 

Cleopatra     as     Understudy     for 

Hatiior 399 

Napi-es:  Strada  del  Molo  and  St. 

Elmo's  Castle 403 

Bay  of  Naples 403 

A    Neapolitan   Team 405 


i6 


LIST  ol 


l.l.rSTKATIONS 


I'AGK 


A   Macaroni    Factory 407 

The  Court  ok  Justice,  Pompeii.  .400 
The   Hocse   of   Pausa,   Pompeii. 411 

PoMPEiAN  Girl 413 

Neapolitan  Damsei 415 

Neapolitan  Swaix 415 

The  Arch  of  Titus 421 

The  Forum 423 

The  Collosseum 423 

The  Arch  of  Constantixe 425 

Interior  of  St.  Peter's 427 

A      Constant       Scene       in      St. 

Peter's 429 

The  Transfiguration,  by 

Raphael 431 

The  Phantheon,  Rome 433 

The  Temple  of  Vesta,' Rome 435 

Baptistery,  Cathedral,  and  Lean- 
ing Tower,  Pisa 441 

A  Group  of  Fra  Angelico  Angels, 

Uffizi    Gallery,    Florence  .  .442 
The    Cathedral    and    Giotto's 

Tower,  Florence 443 

Piazza  della  Signora,  Florence, 
Where    Sayonarola   was 

Burned 444 

The    Tribune,     Uffizi     Gallery, 

Florence 445 

Raphael  Painting  the   Madonna 

OF  the  Chair 446 

The  Madonna  of  the  Chair,  by 
Raphael,  Pitti  Palace,  Flor- 
ence  447 


I'Aiac 
Till-:  Last  Supper,  by  I'ra  Angel- 
ico,  San   ^L\rco,   Florence.  .448 

Sayonarola 449 

Venice — The  Campanllk  from  -niK 

Grand  Canal 450 

The  Bridge  of  Sighs 451 

The  Rialto 452 

The  Campanile  and  Saint  Mark's, 

^'i:nice 453 

Milan  Cathedrai 454 

The    Last    Supper — -Da    Vinci's 
Great  Picture  as  It  Appears 

To-day 455 

The  Da  Vinci  Monument,  Milan. 456 

Lake  Lugano 457 

Over  the  Alps  by  Rah 45<S 

Map  of  Spiral  Tunnels 459 

The  Wounded  Lion  of  Lucerne.  .460 

Among  the  Alps 461 

The  Madonna  of  the  Grand  Duke, 

Pitti   Palace,   Florence  ...  .462 
MuRiLLo's  Madonna,  Pitti  Palace, 

Florence 463 

The  Matterhorn 465 

The  Louvre 467 

The   Immaculate   Conception,   by 

Murillo,  The  Louvre 469 

The  Bois  de  Bologne,  Paris 471 

Holyrood    Palace   and   Arthur's 

Seat,  Edinburgh 273 

Two  Young   Romans 476 

Our  Decorated  Baggage 481 

Finis 487 


THE   OLD   WORLD    I\   THE   NEW 

CENTURY 


CHAPTER  I 

EASTWARD    HO! 

We  were  standing  on  deck  the  fourth  day  out,  after  the 
novelty  of  the  situation  had  worn  off,  and  we  were  sure  of  our 
footing  and  able  to  give  some  thought  to  things  in  the  imme- 
diate future. 

"How  much  of  a  proposition  is  Jerusalem,  anyhow?" 
asked  one  member  of  the  group. 

There  was  something  almost  shockingly  direct  about  the 
question.  It  was  asked  in  a  semi-confidential  way,  and  in 
entire  good  faith.  There  was  something  in  the  tone  which 
indicated  that  the  questioner  rather  thought  that  he  ouo-ht  to 
know  the  answer  without  asking,  but  there  was  also  the 
emphatic  determination  to  put  the  question,  and  face  the 
facts.  The  questioner  was  a  leather-dealer,  and  the  men 
addressed  were  ministers  of  the  gospel,  who  might  be  sup- 
posed to  know  the  proper  answer. 

"How  much  of  a  proposition  is  Jerusalem?"  It  had  not 
always  been  a  "jiroposition"  to  my  leather-dealing  friend;  it 
had  been  a  mental  concept,  and  it  was  facing  him  now  in  a 
new  role.      lie  was  endeavoring  to  approach  it  as  a  reality. 

It  is  always  interesting  when  a  practical  man  changes  an 
ideal  to  a  proposition. 

A  wealthy  American  senator,  who  had  had  little  exi)eri- 
cnce  with  colleges,  so  the  story  goes,  went  with  his  wife  to 
visit  a  great  university.  They  conceived  the  idea  of  building 
a  similar  institution  in  their  own  state.  Having  seen  the  large 
Eastern  school,  this  idealist    in  deeds  stood  s(|uarely  before  its 

17 


iS  TiiK  i^i.n  woki.D  i\    ruF.  ni:\v  nArrRV 

president,  his  h.uuls  tlccp  in  liis  pockets,  and  asked,  "Mr. 
President,  lu)\\  nuicli  nione)'  wonld  it  take  to  duplicate  this 
plant?" 

"  riant  I"  No  wonder  the  president  was  surprised.  He 
replied  that  ni.my^  thintjjs  in  a  colle;4e  cannot  be  instantly 
duplicated,  nor  bouy;ht  at  any  price;  that  a  college  is  an  evo- 
lution, a  history,  a  body  of  alumni,  a  fund  of  accumulated 
tradition,  a  wealth  of  scholastic  association  and  an  organism 
of  growing  intellectual  power.  But  the  senator  held  to  his 
point.  He  was  not  trying  to  buy  those  things;  those  were 
for  other  men  to  add.  He  was  interested  in  the  possibility  of 
providing  "the  plant."  He  was  told  how  many  millions 
would  be  required  for  the  material  equipment  of  such  an  insti- 
tution; and  his  wife  tapped  his  arm,  and  said,  confidently, 
"Leland,  we'll  do  it!" 

They  did  it,  and  did  it  superbly. 

The  question  about  the  "plant"  was  the  senator's  way  of 
reducing  a  vague  idea  to  tangible  form. 

My  esteemed  friend  of  the  hides  and   leather  had  heard  of 

Jerusalem  all  his  life,  but  it  had  been  to  him  a  fact  in  history 

and  a   sentiment  associated  with   his  reading  and   singing  and 

aspiration.      He  now  wanted   some  information  which  would 

enable  him  to  reduce  it  all  to  acres  and  population.      Fie  was 

doing  in  his  own  way  what  we  all  were  attempting.      We  had 

sung  for  years, 

"  Jerusalem,  my  happy  home, 
Name  ever  dear  to  me; 
When  shall  my  labors  have  an  end, 
Thy  joys  when  shall  I  see?" 

We  had  sung  it  of  the  new  Jerusalem,  and  were  about  to 
have  an  answer  in  the  Jerusalem  of  earth.  The  holy  city  of 
history,  the  glorious  vision  of  an  iridescent  future,  all  that 
we  had  known  and  thought  and  felt  when  we  had  heard  the 
name  Jerusalem,  were  reduced  to  a  definite  day  in  the  week 
and  month,  duly  scheduled  on  our  itinerary.  We  were  about 
to  tread  its  narrow  streets  with  our  own  feet,  and  from  some 
point  of  vantage  within   its  gated  walls  to  see  with   our  own 


EASTWARD    HO  ! 


•9 


eyes  how  "the  mountains  are  round  about  Jerusalem."  This 
was  something  different  from  singing  about  it,  I  felt  grate- 
ful to  my  friend  from  the  world  of  business  and  practical 
affairs  for  his  question.  He  found  himself,  as  he  expressed 
it,  "up  against"  a  wholly  new  situation,  and  wanted  to  know 
"how  much  of  a  proposition"  it  was. 

We  who  had  set  out  to  materialize  this  vision  were  a  com- 
pany of  Americans  touring  the  Mediterranean   on  a  chartered 


THE   GOOD   SHIP   CELTIC 

ship,  the  Celtic.  There  were  830  of  us.  We  were  377  men,  438 
women,  and  15  children,  besides  a  crew  of  390,  making  a  total 
of  1,220.  It  was  the  largest  party  of  its  kind  that  ever  entered 
the  Mediterranean,  and  the  Celtic  was  the  largest  ship  afloat. 
Not  since  Noah  built  his  ark  had  so  great  a  ship  been  seen. 
We  had  been  well  advertised,  and  were  well  provided  for.  Our 
ship  carried  for  our  sustenance  90,000  pounds  of  beef,  90,000 
pounds  of  potatoes,  50,000  pounds  of  poultry,  many  tons  of 
pork  and  veal,  44,000  eggs,  3,000  boxes  of  ice-cream,  and  other 
things  in  proportion.  At  every  port  we  bought  out  the  avail- 
able supply  of  fruit,  fresh  fish  and  vegetables.  (])n  the  score  of 
bigness  wc  were  the  people.      7\s  to  quality,  there  were  sixt)'- 


::o  THl".   l^I.l^   \\t)|>:i.l)    IN     VWV.    M.W   CENTURY 

iwo  ministers,  ami  half  as  man\-  ph^'siciaiis,  ami  there  were 
those  who  wiote  "  llonorable"  ami  "General"  and  other  titles 
before  or  after  their  names.  There  was  a  i^ootll\'  proportion 
of  unassuming;,  slraiy;htforwar(l  men  without  an\-  particular 
label,  some  oi  w  hom.  niakiiii;"  a  new  reputation,  as  we  all  had 
to  do,  each  for  himself,  in  the  new  little  floatint;  world  of 
which  we  had  become  residents,  proved  among  the  best  and 
most  popular  men  on  board.  Most  of  us,  at  the  outset,  were 
strangers  to  each  other. 

"Do  you  know  all  these  people?"  I  asked  a  young  lady 
the  first  day,  for  I  found  her  passenger  list  well  marked  with 
a  lead  pencil. 

"Oh,  no,"  she  answered;  "mother  has  been  marking  the 
ministers,  and  sister  and  I  have  been  picking  out  the  men  who 
are  not  accompanied  by  their  wives,  and  wondering  which  of 
them  are  unmarried." 

It  is  well  enough  to  cross  the  ocean  to  study  the  old 
world;  but  the  passenger  list,  also,  is  a  fruitful  field  of  study, 
and  in  some  cases  at  least,  it  was  studied  Avith  ardor  and 
success. 

The  first  cruise  of  this  sort,  organized  in  America,  keeping 
its  own  ship,  and  covering  the  principal  ports  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, was  that  made  famous  by  Mark  Twain  in  his  "Inno- 
cents Abroad,"  some  thirty-five  years  ago.  That  party  had  a 
ship  of  2,500  tons,  with  65  passengers;  we  had  a  leviathan 
of  the  ocean,  with  a  tonnage  of  20,900  and  a  passenger  list  of 
830,  and  the  appointments  in  the  way  of  library,  orchestra, 
lectures,  entertainments  and  social  life  were  all  upon  a  vastly 
larszer  scale  in  our  case  than  in  theirs.  The  accommodations 
now  are  much  better,  and  the  price  is  much  lower  than  was 
possible  a  third  of  a  century  ago,  and  our  trip  was  so  well 
advertised  that  almost  every  one  in  America  must  have  heard 
of  the  proposed  cruise  of  the  ship  Celtic  to  the  Orient.  At 
least,  we  who  were  her  passengers  had  heard  so  much  about 
it,  and  so  little  in  comparison  of  anything  else,  that  it  seemed 
the  one  great  topic  of  conversation.  Doubtless,  other  things 
were  talked  of   in  remote  corners   of  America  during  the  days 


EASTWARD    HO 


21 


immediately  preceding  our  departure,  but   it  was  hard   for  us 
to  realize  that  people  were  interested  in  anything  else. 

We  might  be  pardoned  for  thinking  our  departure  of  some 
importance,  in  view  of  the  crowd  that  assembled  to  see  us  off. 
If  all  New  York  was  not  gathered  on  the  wharf,  there  were 
many  people  from  elsewhere.  If  the  census-taker  had  chosen 
that  moment  for  his  round,  he  could  have  swelled  the  popu- 
lation of  New  York  considerably.  There  was  such  a  crowd 
upon  the  wharf  that  it  seemed  as  if  we  must  join  them  and 
remain.  It  was  all  but 
impossible   to  reach  the 


gang-plank. 

It  is  a  large  risk,  but 
I  intend  to  omit  the  re- 
mark that  all  was  bustle 
and  confusion  on  the 
pier.  There  w^as  no 
confusion,  and  there  was 
no  room  to  bustle. 
There  was  meager  op- 
portunity to  wedge  one's 

way,  laden  with  parcels  and  hand-baggage,  through  the  as- 
sembled crowd  and  up  to  the  gang-plank,  and  for  the  time 
we  cared  for  nothing  else  than  to  get  there. 

The  band  was  playing  "I'll  Leave  My  Happy  Home  for 
You."  There  was  a  clapping  of  hands,  and  someone  made  a 
brief  response.  Then  the  band  played  "He's  a  Jolly  Good 
Fellow."  We  did  not  know  or  care  for  whom  the  band  was 
playing,  but  only  cherished  a  vague  feeling  of  wonder  that 
any  one  man  could  be  great  enough  to  attract  attention  in 
that  crowd. 

It  was  two  o'clock  when  we  arrived  at  tiu'  ])icr.  By  the 
time  I  reached  niy  stateroom  it  was  a  (|uai  h  r  of  three.  I  had 
barely  time  to  deposit  my  parcels,  be  sure  that  my  belongings 
were  on  board,  and  get  back  on  dc  ck  for  a  brief  look  around, 
before  the  vessel  sailed. 

The  wharf  was  a  black  sea  of  human  life,  flecked  with  the 


THE    LIBRARY 


THE    OLD    WORLD    IN     ['HE    NEW    CENTURY 


foam  of  \va\ini;-  hamlkcrchicfs.  I  looked  it  over,  trying  in  all 
the  thousands  of  assembled  faces  to  find  one  that  I  knew. 
At  last  I  tliscovered  a  group  of  friends  who  had  procured 
positions  on  the  pilot-house  of  a  tug,  and  had  been  shouting 
for  some  minutes  trying  to  attract  my  attention.  It  was  a 
joyous  discovery,  and  I  waved  them  a  vigorous  return. 
Nothing  woukl  make  a  man  feel  more  lonely  at  such  a  time 
than  to  know  that  every  one  else  had  some  one  there  to  see 
him  off,  and  he  alone  was  forgotten.      But,  besides  the  friends 

on  the  dock,  we  found 
below  flowers,  maga- 
zines, and  quantities  of 
letters  from  distant 
friends,  all  full  of  kindly 
greeting  and  farewell. 

Exactly  at  three 
o'clock  the  plank  was 
withdrawn,  and  at  once 
the  great  ship  began  to 
move — an  inch,  another, 
another,  almost  imper- 
ceptibly she  edged 
away.  A  line  was  cast  off  here,  another  there;  we  gained 
another  inch,  a  foot,  a  yard;  and  now  the  dock  began  to  slip 
back  from  us.  A  hundred  steam  whistles  shouted  their  hoarse 
adieu.  A  hundred  flags  waved  out  their  patriotic  benediction. 
A  thousand  voices  shouted  out  to  us,  one  last  composite  shout, 
in  which  we  distinguished  no  single  word,  but  knew  that  it 
was  all  there,  counsel,  admonition,  affectionate  farewell,  and 
hope  of  safe  return,  prescriptions  for  seasickness,  and  warnings 
not  to  forget  to  write — all  these  were  gathered  up  into  that 
long,  final  shout  from  the  shore.  We  had  not  lacked  an 
appreciative  farewell.  Even  the  Goddess  of  Liberty  down 
the  bay  seemed  with  her  uplifted  hand  to  wave  us  a  kindly 
adieu. 

Few  stayed  on  deck  to  watch  the  shores  recede,  for  it  was 
bitter  cold,  and   the  zero   air  had    in  it   the   bite  of  the   keen 


THE   PROMENADE    DECK 


EASTWARD   HO! 


23 


wind  and  the  creepiness  of  the  salt  air.      We  went  below  and 
hoped  to  get  warm. 

It  was  a  cold   night  on  board.      All  doors  had  been  open, 


'•  !•  AKKWKLL,   AMERICA  !  " 
Photograph  by  Mrs.  F.  B.  Newell,  Oak  Park,  ni. 

and  the  freezing  air  was  in  every  corner  of  the  ship  except  the 
library,  which  was  packed  witli  people  preparing  home  mes- 
sages. I  never  saw  such  industrious  writing.  Ten  thousand 
picture  postal-cards  were  used.  Reams  of  paper  melted  away 
on  tile  desks.      The  word  that  we  were  anchored  for  the  nierht 


-4  'I'll!     "in    WOULD    IN     lUK    NKW    CENTURY 

just  iiisidi-  oi  Saiuly  I  look  y;a\'c  the  passengers  a  new  fien/y 
io  write  to  all  their  frieiuls.  and  the  mail  bag  filled  and  over- 
flowed. 

The  pilot  went  haek  e.iily  in  the  niorninijj,  and  few  were 
out  to  see  hini  o\L  The  bugle  blew  the  breakfast  eall,  and 
the  dining-rooms  tilled.  The  shores  were  growing  dim  when 
we  came  on  deck,  and  wc  did  not  long  remain.  "Farewell, 
America!"  we  saitl  in  our  hearts;  "we  shall  sail  for  many  a 
day  before  we  see  a  land  so  fair!" 

Two  instincts,  strong  in  human  life,  have  made  civiliza- 
tion, and  constitute  its  centripetal  and  centrifugal  forces  in 
the  conquest  of  nature.  One  is  the  nomadic  and  the  other 
is  the  homing  instinct.  One  pushes  the  race  forward  across 
each  new  horizon,  and  has  nearly  determinetl  the  final  fron- 
tiers of  civilization.  The  other  impels  men  to  cling  to  the 
soil  which  they  have  conquered,  to  return  to  the  sites  and 
shrines  of  former  experiences,  to  build  homes,  establish  insti- 
tutions, and  maintain  industries. 

The  American  people  have  been  a  race  of  pioneers,  ever 
treading  in  the  path  of  the  sun  towards  the  west;  but  they 
have  combined  most  notably  with  this  the  home-loving 
instinct,  and  have  developed  also  a  home-returning  passion 
which  makes  them  a  nation  of  tourists.  So,  annually  some 
thousands  of  Americans  take  an  oath  to  be  loyal  to  America 
as  a  prerequisite  to  a  tour  abroad.  It  is  a  fine  preparation  for 
a  tour — this  application  for  a  passport.  The  pledge  to  sup- 
port the  government  of  the  home  land  is  a  proper  reminder 
that  we  are  not  to  become  expatriated;  and  the  official  certifi- 
cate of  the  Secretary  of  State  that  the  bearer  is  a  citizen  and 
entitled  to  the  respect  and  protection  of  foreign  nations, 
reminds  us  anew  that  American  citizenship  counts  for  some- 
thing in  the  old  world. 

It  is  easy  to  get  a  passport.  You  write  to  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  a  blank  application,  on  which  you  record  your 
age,  place  of  birtli,  occupation,  and  a  description  of  your 
personal  appearance,  such  as  a  modest  man  blushes  to  de- 
clare about  himself,  and  swear  to  the  whole  before  a  notary 


EASTWARD   HO! 


public,  and  have  some  neighbor  certify  to  the  truth  of  your 
declaration.  This  you  inclose  with  one  dollar  and  sixty  cents 
to  the  State  Department,  and  receive  in  return  a  parchment 
signed  by  the  Secretar}-,  and  decorated  with  the  red  seal  of 
the  government.  Besides  this,  it  is  necessary  to  have  the  vise, 
which  costs  one  dollar,  of  the  Turkish  consul-general  in  New 
York.  It  is  the  first  of  several  little  contributions  which  the 
tourist  makes  to  the  Turkish  government.  No  one  should 
travel  without  such  a  passport  and  a  sure  preventive  of  sea- 
sickness, and  he  will  be 
very  fortunate  if  the 
latter  proves  as  reliable 
as  the  former.  Pass- 
ports are  not  necessary 
in  the  more  frequented 
countries  of  Europe  ;  but 
even  there  they  are  con- 
x'enient,  and  in  Turkc}- 
they  are  a  necessity. 
They  are  treated  every- 
where with  respect.    Let 

not  the  man  who  sees  an  ofihcial  reading  his  passport  with 
manifest  reverence  sup])ose  that  he  is  overawed  by  the  per- 
sonal description  of  the  owner,  which  is  duly  recorded  on  the 
face  of  the  document.  The  thing  that  evokes  his  respect  is 
the  big  red  seal  of  the  United  States  of  America. 

No  ship  has  permanent  accommodations  for  830  first-class 
passengers.  There  were  many  conflicting  reports  about  our 
being  overcrowded,  and  of  our  carr\-iiig  less  than  half  the 
ship's  capacity.  We  filled  the  first-class  and  second-class 
quarters,  and  more  than  half  of  us  were  housed  in  the  ])art  of 
the  ship  w  here  ordinarilx'  the  third-class  passengers  arc  carried. 
'I  he  rooms  of  these,  ho\\c\'er,  were  nc-\\  and  S[)otlessI\-  cK'an, 
and  the  furnishings  were  strictl\-  first-class.  We  were  wi'll 
above  the  water-line,  and  had  atcomiDod.itions  that  weie 
comfortable,  but  not  luxurious.  We  used  both  tin-  first  and 
second    class  dining-rooms,  biil   tlic    seiv'ice  was  i(l(ntii.Ml.  and 


\vhi:re  thev  guessed  at  the  sfeeo 


26  llll'.    ()\.\)    WOULD    IN     I'llK    NEW    CKNITKY 

the  (.lock  aiul  sliore  and  library  jm i\'ilc;^cs  were  cdniinon  to  all. 
Me  who  pail!  less  money  had  a  less  expensive  room,  as  in  any 
liotel.  hut  h.ul  the  s.ime  food  and  social  priviley;es;  nor  was 
aiu-  line  iliMwii  amoni;  us.  W'e  were  all  first-class  passeni^ers, 
and  a  thoroui;hl\-  tlemocratic  company,  'i'his  is  likely  to  be 
the  arranj]^ement  in  any  similar  cruise,  and  the  intending 
tourist  will  do  well  to  untlerstand  precisely  what  to  expect. 
My  own  room  was  one  of  those  temporarily  fitted  up  on  the 
main  deck,  and  was  entirely  satisfactory.  It  was  not  large, 
and  was  not  palatial,  but  the  ventilation  was  good,  and  the 
people  near  me  were  of  the  very  best  on  the  ship,  and  no 
man's  standing  depended  in  the  slightest  degree  upon  the 
amount  which  he  hatl  paid  for  his  room. 

The  eight  days  of  our  outward  passage  went  all  too  fast. 
There  was  the  settling,  and  getting  accustomed  to  our  sur- 
1-oundings;  there  were  diaries  to  begin  (and  most  of  them 
ended  before  we  sighted  land),  and  home  letters  to  write; 
there  was  preparatory  reading  to  be  done;  and  there  were 
acquaintances  to  make;  for  every  one  had  letters  of  introduc- 
tion to  some  one  on  board.  Besides  this,  there  were  Sunday 
services  that  overflowed  the  forward  cabin,  and  lectures  that 
told  us  of  the  lands  we  were  first  to  visit,  and  what  to  see 
there  in  the  brief  time  assigned  us.  There  was  a  Valentine 
Day's  party  that  evoked  much  wit  and  skill,  and  there  were 
other  entertainments,  both  grave  and  gay.  "VVe  had  a  male 
quartette  and  a  choir,  and  the  ship  had  pianos  and  an  orchestra. 

When  there  was  nothing  else  to  do,  we  went  to  the  office 
of  Mr.  Clark,  the  conductor,  to  ask  him  to  make  some  change 
in  our  room  or  route.  We  were  sure  to  meet  most  of  the 
people  on  the  ship  standing  about  his  door.  The  rest  were 
in  the  baggage-hold,  getting  out  the  things  which  they  had 
intended  to  send  to  their  staterooms,  and  packing  away 
winter  clothing  which  they  expected  would  become  superflu- 
ous after  we  struck  the  Gulf  Stream.  And  at  home  they  were 
trying  to  thaw  the  water-pipes!  It  is  well  for  the  tourist  not 
to  pack  the  warm  clothing  too  deej)  in  the  trunk;  the  Medi- 
terranean does  not  lie  on  the   ecpiator. 


EASTWARD   HO! 


27 


There  were  three  meals  a  day  to  be  eaten,  and  it  was 
counted  good  form  to  dress  for  dinner,  and  there  was  always 
something  afterward  in  one  cabin  or  the  other.  Sometimes 
there  was  a  dance  on  deck  for  those  who  liked  it,  while  those 
who  did  not  care  for  this  form  of  entertainment  had  special 
studies  in  camera  clubs,  and  study  clubs  of  various  sorts. 
Our  ship  was  a  paradise  of  clubs. 

There  were  games  of  quoits  and  shufifleboard  on  deck,  and 
they  were   popular  on  the   return  trip,  but   going  out  we  had 


THK    MAIN    SALOON 


too  much  to  do  to  use  them.  Our  spare  time  was  put  in  with 
heart-to-heart  talks  with  Baedeker,  the  patron  saint  of  all 
tourists. 

It  is  something  even  to  accustom  one's  self  to  the  bells, 
and  the  constantly  changing  time.  To  visit  the  clock  each 
evening  and  find  how  main-  minutes  it  is  to  be  set  forward  at 
midnight,  and  to  note  the  log  each  day  at  noon,  and  copy  the 
latitude  and  longitude,  the  miles  sailed,  and  tin;  captain's 
record  of  the  weather — all  this  helps  to  fill  out  the  day.  The 
salt  bath  before  breakfast,  followed  b\-  a  brisk  walk  on  deck, 
and  another  long  walk  at  night,  to  rinse  out  one's  lungs  before 
going  to  bed,  help  to  make  the  hours  pass  swiftly.      The  days 


-S  riiK  oi.i)  WOULD  IN   riiK  m:\v  century 

arc  short   cnmi^h,  and  the  niL;hts   lose  nearly  an  hour  each  as 
we  sail  toward  tlu'  sunrise. 

1  have  one  word  of  w  isdoni  to  those  anticipating  such  a 
voyage:  be  chary  of  promises  to  write  to  many  ]')eo])le  on 
your  cruise.  There  is  little  time  for  writing,  and  there  is 
much   else  to  do.      (3ur  eight   days  of  cruising  went   by  like  a 


"LOOKING   FOR    LAND 
Photograph  by  Miss  Anna  M.  Matthews,  Oak  Park,  III. 

dream,  and  from  that  time  there  was  before  us  one  continuous 
series  of  deliglitful  and  strenuous  hustlings. 

Those  who  supposed  that  they  would  have  ample  time  to 
sit  on  deck  and  read  novels  and  write  home  to  friends  were 
immensely  mistaken.  There  was  plenty  to  do,  and,  fortu- 
nately, most  of  us  were  able  to  do  it.  While  a  number  of 
tourists  at  one  time  or  another  had  a  little  discomfort,  very 
few  were  sick  for  any  length  of  time,  and  many  made  the 
entire  cruise  without  being  absent  from  a  meal. 


EASTWARD    HO 


Generally  speaking,  wc  had  good  weather,  and  our  ship 
was  so  well  provided  with  bilge-keels  that  we  rolled  but  little. 
Still,  we  wondered  what  the  captain  meant  by  recording 
"Moderate  to  light  wind,"  when  we  thought  it  half  a  hurri- 
cane; and  our  respect  for  his  judgment  increased  the  third 
day  out.  when  he  recorded," Strong  swly.  &  wly.  gale  &  modt. 
sea."  The  moderate  sea  soon  increased,  according  to  the 
captain's  own  record,  to 
"heavy  swell,"  and  then  it 
was  that  some  people  had 
experiences.  I  h  a  \-  e  a 
photograph,  taken  on  that 
morning,  of  an  esteemed 
member  of  the  cruise,  who 
will  perhaps  be  surprised  to 
recognize  himself  here.  It 
may  be  that  he  has  told  his 
friends  at  home  that  he  was 
the  only  man  on  board  that 
was  not  disturbed  at  any 
time;  if  so,  and  if  they 
know  him  to  be  truthful,  I 
shall  not  contradict  him ; 
but  I  give  the  portrait  here- 
with. It  is  free  from  that 
self-conscious  look  which 
almost  invariabl\-  character- 
izes a  photogra]))!.  If  the  subject  displays  any  artistic  fault,  it 
is  that  he  appears  preoccupied.  lie  has  the  deck  to  himself, 
and  the  deck  is  wet  and  lonely.  Me  is  thinking  of  home.  He 
is  trying  to  discover  land.  Land  is  just  three  miles  away,  and 
while  he   iTia\-  not  see  it,  he   is  looking  in    the  ritjht   direction. 

"Don't  crowd  the  gangway  I"  I'his  became  our  most 
faniih'ar  admonition.  '{'here  was  room  for  us  on  board,  antl 
r(j(nn  on  shore,  but  we  grew  ver\'  \\e;ir\-  of  each  other  when- 
ever wc  reached  port.  From  two  to  four  long,  double  llights 
of   stairs  were   rigged  to   the  side,  and  we  were   permitted    to 


"IJONT    CKOWIJ    TllK   gangway!" 
Photograph  by  Miss  Grace  A.  Ross,  Oak  Park,  111. 


30 


THE    Oil)    WOK  in    IN     11  IK    NEW   CENTURY 


pass  down  in  sini^lc  hK-  into  small  boats  or  steam  tenders,  and 
so  con\e\'C(.l  ashore.  It  was  a  \ery  loni;  wa}'  down,  and  not 
all  could  go  on  the  first  boat.  Most  of  our  i)asseiigers  were 
courteous,  and  the  occasions  for  conqjlaint  were  few.  But  as 
tlie  cr\-  of  '"Low  bridt^e!"  is  said  to  discover  by  the  answer- 
ing duck  ot  the  head  the  man  u  ho  once  worked  on  a  canal- 
boat,  so  there  is  one  rallying  cry  which  830  American  citizens 
would  instantly  recognize.  This  sliould  be  the  coat  of  arms 
of  those  who,  having  received  distinguished  honors  abroad, 
take  armorial  bearings  from  this  cruise.  On  a  field  azure,  a 
long  ladder  sable,  upon  it  a  tourist  verd,  climbing  down  to  a 
small  boat  rampant;  motto,  ''Don't  crowd  the  gang  zv  ay.'' 


PROPOSED    COAT   OF   ARMS 
Drawn  by  Mr.  Theodore  Falk,  Chicago,  111. 


CHAPTER  II 

MADEIRA,  THE  LAND  OF  THE  WINE 

I  hope  that  no  reader  of  this  chapter  is  as  ignorant  as  I 
find  myself  to  have  been  about  Madeira.  That  it  is  one  of 
several  islands  in  a  group  to  which  it  gives  the  name;  that  its 
capital  is  Funchal;  that  it  belongs  to  Portugal;  that  it  is  a 
steep  and  almost  inaccessible  place;  that  its  climate  varies 
little,  summer  or  winter;  and  that  it  produces  a  wine  that  has 
been  famous  for  decades — all  this  I  had  heard.  I  also  had  read 
about  its  latitude  and  longitude,  its  area  and  population,  in 
the  guide-book,  where  the  reader  may  find  them  if  he  chooses, 
and  perhaps  remember  them  longer  than  I  diti.  But  Madeira 
had  not  taken  shape  in  ni\-  imagination  until   my  eyes  saw  it. 

Behold  an  island,  along  whose  coast  a  vessel  sails  for  two 
hours,  rising  sheer  from  the  water,  \\ith  cliffs  of  surpassing 
grandeur  standing  three  to  five  thousand  feet  in  height. 
Nowhere  on  earth  except  in  Norway  are  such  sea-cliffs  visible. 
From  these  perpendicular  mountains  the  streams  dash  down 
hundreds  of  feet  and  break  into  veils  of  spray,  while  others 
flow  with  ever-increasing  rapidity  down  rocky  gorges,  broken 
here  and  there  into  cascades  that  gleam  and  shimmer  in  the 
sun.  All  this  is  in  plain  sight  as  the  ship  approaches  land, 
and  for  two  hours  the  landscape,  from  the  first  inviting, 
exhibits  constantly  more  definite  detail  and  pleasing  variety. 
Vineyards  and  fertile  terraces  gird  the  less  precipitous  hills, 
and  peasants'  homes  appear  on  the  slopes.  Where  the  moun- 
tain caflons  M-iden  a  little  at  the  shore  there  cluster  little 
villages,  the  houses  made  of  concrete,  and  roofed  with  tile  or 
thatch,  often  so  covered  with  moss  or  lichen  as  to  be  a  bril- 
liant mottled  orange  in  cohjr.  In  one  place  where  two  cliffs 
grudgingly  give  away  in  steep  hills  with  mountain  torrents 
between,  but  where   no  single  stream  of  size  offers  its  mouth 

3' 


32 


Till'.  OLD  \\i)ui.n  IN    iiii:  m:\v  cF.Nirm' 


for  a  harbor,  staiuls  llic  capital.  I'^mchal,  a   beautiful  aiul  most 
intcrcstinL^  city. 

I'hc  iiati\cs  oi  l''uncli.il  appear  to  be  amphibious.  While 
the  cit\-  has  no  liaibor  it  abt)untls  in  boats.  Tliese  are  well- 
built  and  able  crafts,  i^enerally  a  vivitl  i;reen  in  color,  with  a 
stripe  of  purple  or  \-ellow,  and  with  upstanding;'  prow  which 
serves  the  men  on  board  to  lu)kl  to  while  leaning  over,  or  the 


HOUSES  OF  CONCRETE, ROOFED  WITH  THATCH 


man  on  shore  to  catch  as  the  boat  comes  in.  The  oars  have 
fiddle-shaped  boards  on  the  sides,  that  play  on  thole-pins 
unlike  anything  else  we  saw.  Long  before  we  anchored  we 
were  surrounded  by  these  craft,  and  when  we  stopped  they 
swarmed  about  us.  Some  of  the  boats  were  loaded  high  with 
wicker  chairs  and  other  light  woodwork,  which  the  venders 
thrust  up  on  poles,  shouting  the  prices.  Other  boats  brought 
fruit  and  vegetables.  Fresh  fish  were  there,  also,  and  these  our 
steward  j)urchased  by  the  boat-load.  But  many  of  the  inhabi- 
tants earned   their  money  by  the   easier  method  of  diving  for 


MADEIRA,  THE  LAND  OF  THE  WINE 


33 


coin.      Any  coin  except  copper,  which   they  said  they  could 

not   see  in   the  water,  would   be  brought    up  by  these  human 

fish.      It  mattered   not  how  many  feet   in  depth  the  coin  had 

the   start,  the   divers  never   failed  to   bring   it  up.      The   coin 

came  up  in  the  diver's  toes,  but 

this  was  a  trick  of  the  trade;  the 

diver    caught   it   in   his    fingers, 

deep  down,  and  conveyed  it   to 

his  toes  in  the  act  of  turning  to 

rise.      Some  men  brought  small 

boys  on  their  shoulders,  and  cast 

them  off  to  make  them  dive ;  the 

boy  was  often  small  and  afraid, 

and  the  man  generally  followed 

him   and  got  the  coin;   the  lad 

simply  dived  and  came  back. 

We  soon  found  that  the 
whole  island  is  ready  to  take  a 
dip  for  American  coin.  We  had 
been  wondering  into  what  money 
we  ought  to  change  our  ready 
cash  in  order  to  make  purchases 
in  Madeira.  It  was  not  neces- 
sar\-  to  change  at  all.  Money 
values  are  computed  in  reis,  of 
which  it  takes  i,ioo  to  make  a 
dollar.  A  bill  presented  in  reis 
astounds  an  American;  but  the 
native  of  Madeira  will  quickly 
reduce  it  to  dollars,  and  cut  the 
price  in  two.  The  \'alue  of  a  dollar  is  as  well  known  in 
I"'unchal  as  in  New  York. 

The  first  thing  that  impresses  a  visitor  after  he  gets  ashore 
is  the  pavement.  If  lie  has  tender  feet  he  feels  it  before  he 
sees  it.  It  is  composed  of  small,  thin  stones  set  upright,  and 
makes  a  good  roadway.  r)ver  it  slide  the  coaches  of  I'un- 
chal,  the  carros,  sleds  drawn  b\-  bullocks. 


TIIK    DIV1-:    FOR    COIN 
Photograph  by  Mrs.  F.  B.  Newell 


34  'rHK  Di.n  \\i>ui.i)  i\    mi-;  m:\\   cENirRV 

Tlu-  carro  has  a  c.uuipy,  and  is  iipliolstcrcd  and  curtained 
with  i.hintz  ov  noworcd  cotton.  It  looks  not  unlike  an  old- 
tashionctl  i'our-poster  hctl  with  a  t[ueer  cradle  attachment,  and 
produces  in  marked  dcL^ree  the  combined  .sensation  of  novelty, 
comfort  and  jollitw  When  (~)ne  has  chartered  a  vehicle  of 
this  (.lescripti(Mi  he  experiences  a  sudden  inclination  to  mirth, 
it  is  hard  for  him  to  take  himself  seriously,  and  each  friend 
whom  he  meets  similarly  enthronetl  laughs  at  him  in  answer 
to  his  laugh.  It  enables  him  to  see  himself  as  others  see  him. 
It  is  as  if  he  turned  a  corner  ami  met  himself  coming  back. 
He  laughs  first  to  see  how  funny  his  friend  looks,  and  then 
laughs  again  to  think  how  funny  he  himself  must  look.  Each 
echoes  the  other's  laugh.  Yet  one  does  not  feel  ridiculous, 
but  has  an  undefined  sensation  of  dignity  withal.  I  never 
felt    so    much    like   an  aristocrat  as  when  throned  in  a  carro. 

A  ride  so  exhilarating  would  have  pleased  us  at  any  time, 
but  coming  as  our  first  experience  after  the  ship,  we  hailed  it 
with  a  delight  that  passed  enthusiasm.  For  weeks  we  talked 
of  it,  and  it  became  a  sort  of  standard  of  comparison  for  all 
the  various  means  of  transportation  which  we  afterward 
enjoyed  or  suffered.  "Waw!"  is  the  cry  of  the  driver  of  the 
carro,  and  it  seems  strangely  appropriate.  Our  party  called 
the  carro  a  "bully  cart,"  and  so  it  is.  There  are  only  a  very 
few  wheeled  vehicles — carriages  that  run  between  the  wharf 
and  the  new  hotel — and  these  are  of  recent  importation. 
They  are  not  popular,  and  do  not  deserve  to  be.  He  who 
would  move  about  in  Funchal  and  not  make  his  feet  sore  on 
the  sharp  stones  hires  a  bully  cart.  One  man  goes  ahead  and 
guides  the  oxen.  Another  runs  behind  with  a  goad  and  a 
grease  bag,  and  when  the  sledding  is  hard  he  drops  the  grease 
bag  under  the  runner.  There  is  a  bell  on  the  yoke,  and  it 
tinkles  merrily.  Both  men  shout  at  the  oxen,  at  each  other, 
and  at  the  drivers  of  other  carros  with  which  they  seem  likely 
to  collide.  The  girls  lean  out  of  the  windows  and  look.  The 
beggars  run  behind  and  shout,  and  the  passenger  makes  a 
mental  note  of  his  sensations. 

It  is  not  exactly  Chicago.      But  when  I  stand  shivering  on 


MADEIRA,  THE  LAND  OF  THE  WINE 


35 


the  platform  of  the  elevated  road,  or  hold  patiently  to  the 
hand-strap  of  a  cable  car,  I  shall  heave  a  sigh  and  remember 
my  ride  in  the  bullock  carro  of  Funchal. 

Bishop  Hartzell,  of  the  American  Methodist  Church,  was 
in  Funchal  when  we  arrived,  and  I  procured  his  photograph 
in  a  carro. 

If  one  would  go  up  the  mountain  he  has  the  choice  of  a 


THK  TROLLEY  CAR  OF  MADEIRA 


hammock  borne  by  two  men  and  slung  to  a  pole,  or  the  elevated 
railway,  the  only  railroad  on  the  island.  The  road  ascends 
past  terraced  and  irrigated  gardens,  between  charming  thatched 
cottages,  each  with  a  blank  wall  below  and  an  arbor  above 
with  luxurious  vines  loaded  with  red-purple  flowers.  Camellias 
abound,  growing  on  trees  of  considerable  si/.e,  and  having 
rich,  large  blossoms,  niillioiis  in  imnihcr.  Along  the  way  the 
people  look  out  from  their  tloral  bowers,  and  little  girls  run 
along  and  pelt  the  tourist  with  blossoms.  A  tourist  with 
good    ner\-e,  having   ridden  np    liill    on   tlu'    railwa)-,  may  slide 


36  THE    OLD    WOlxl.l)    IN     lllK    NKW    CENTURY 

down  in  a  sicil  which  is  miidnl  h\-  two  natix'cs.  No  sliooting 
of  the  chutes  is  so  excitiiii;. 

These  are  not  the  onl)-  nioans  of  transportation  enjoyed 
ill  Madeira.  l^abies  siMuetinies  ride  strapped  to  a  donkey, 
antl  look  \-ery  liai)]))-.  I  caught  a  snap-sliot  of  one  of  them, 
and  present  it  as  a  typical  k^nichal  l)ab}--cab. 

After  eight  days  on  si^ipboard  cva^y  one  wanted  to  spend 
a  night  on  shore.  The  best  liotels  of  J^^inchal  cliarsje  eijjht  to 
twelve  shillings  a  day — but  the  [)rice  instantl)-  advanced  to 
"five  dollars  and  up."      The  emphasis  was  on  the  "up." 

I  was  one  of  the  fortunate  ones  who  secured  a  room  ashore. 
I  had  an  engagement  for  breakfast,  and  the  ship  was  to  leave 
before  luncheon,  but  the  manageress  said,  in  a  sweet  English 
voice,  "Any  part  of  a  da}-  is  the  same  as  a  day,  sir.  Your 
other  meals  will  be  ready  if  you  care  to  stay  for  them."  I 
had  supposed  that  on  the  European  plan  a  man  paid  for  what 
he  got,  but  I  learned  that  this  principle  holds  with  variations. 
Never  in  America  was  I  charged  in  advance  for  meals  after 
the  boat  was  to  leave  I      Hut  I  cheerfully  paid  the  bill. 

It  happened  that  I  had  to  come  back  unexpectedly  and 
spend  the  night  on  the  ship,  so  all  I  got  for  my  money  was 
my  dinner.  But  that  w^as  a  great  table  d'hote  dinner.  On 
account  of  other  duties  I  came  late  to  dinner;  but  I  was 
pleasantly  received  at  the  hotel,  and  given  a  chair  in  a  large, 
cool,  and  w'ell-filled  dining-room  overlooking  the  sea.  Every- 
thing was  delightful  except  that  I  had  no  food. 

Having  waited  some  time,  I  halted  a  distinguished-looking 
person  with  mutton-chop  whiskers  and  a  dress  suit,  and  asked 
him  at  what  point  in  the  proceedings  I  might  expect  some- 
thing to  eat.  He  was  too  great  a  man  to  reply,  but  at  the 
proper  time  he  gave  a  signal,  and  the  waiters  removed  the 
plates  of  those  who  had  plates,  and  brought  me  a  thin  slice  of 
ham,  whose  lean  portion  was  the  size  of  a  silver  dollar,  and  a 
strip  of  cold  breast  of  chicken  an  inch  wide  and  three  inches 
long. 

When  that  had  digested,  the  plates  were  changed,  and  I 
received   a  teaspoonful   of  a  pudding   which   I    did   not    like. 


MADEIRA,  THE  LAND  OF  THE  WINE 


37 


Then  I  had  a  taste  of  wine  jelly,  and  after  that  a  finger-bowl. 
This  was  all  that  I  got  for  my  five  dollars. 

I  give  this  truthful  bit  of  history  as  a  warning  to  any  man 
who  attempts  to  catch  onto  a  European  table  d'hote  dinner 
between  stations.  He  is  ticketed  from  where  he  gets  on  to 
the  terminus,  regardless.  He  need  not  expect  that  he  shall 
do  anything  else  than  ride  on  the  rear  platform  to  where  the 
rest  gfet  ofT.      All  tickets  are  throutjh  tickets,  and  no  rebate  is 


A    FUNCHAL   BABY-CAB 


allowed  for  the  soup,  fish,  roast,  entree,  or  game  portion  if  not 
used. 

The  most  popular  place  in  ^^Inchal  is  the  Casino,  a  beauti- 
ful garden  overlooking  the  sea.  At  night  it  is  lighted  with 
perhaps  tens  of  thousands  of  tiny  lights.  Each  is  a  little  glass 
cup  with  olive  oil  in  the  bottom,  the  top  serving  as  a  globe. 
The  wick  is  drawn  through  a  tin  su])p<)rt,  and  is  a  tiny  affair. 
No  one  lamp  gives  much  light,  but  a  hundred  of  them  hung 
to  the  branches  make  a  tree  beautiful,  and  a  thousand  of  them 
hung  in  festoons  make  a  path  bewilderingly  attractive,  while  the 
smell  of  the  olive  oil,  though  not  particularl}-  pleasant,  gives 


SS  'rill-:  oi.n  world  i\    iiii-.  m:\v  ci:nti'kv 

to  all  a  kiiul  of  odor  as  if  it  wcic  a  scene  from  the  Arabian 
Niy;"hts.  The  q;reat  ilra^dii-tree,  which  looks  as  if  made  of 
sausas^e  links,  had  lamps  from  ex-ery  bouj^h  to  the  ground. 
The  walks,  like  all  pavements  in  ]<\inchal,  are  made  of  small 
stones  set  edgewise,  but  these  are  laid  in  patterns  with  artistic 
skill,  and  in  the  midst  is  a  mosaic  map  of  Africa. 

But  few  people  are  in  the  garden,  even  when  so  beautifully 
lighteil.  Within  the  house  the  music  is  heartl  and  the  dance 
is  gay,  and  up-stairs  the  roulette  tables  are  busy,  with  the  men 
and  women  in  every  seat,  for  the  Casino  is  a  little  Monte 
Carlo.  The  man  at  the  wdieel  turns  it  calmly,  and  the  man 
opposite  throws  the  ball,  and  both  gather  in  the  money  with 
little  rubber-faced  rakes.  The  rake  does  not  grate  on  the 
leather  of  the  table-top.      It  is  very  smooth. 

It  is  not  often  that  Funchal  greets  a  ship-load  of  Ameri- 
cans. It  knows  very  little  about  America,  having  only  a  few 
hundred  English,  and  hardly  any  American  people,  and  no 
new^spaper  printed  in  English.  I  tried  to  learn  how  much  the 
people  really  knew  about  America,  and  how  they  felt  toward 
us.  They  are  disposed  to  think  kindly  of  us,  so  I  was  told, 
but  have  little  real  knowledge.  Their  papers  select,  however, 
those  items  that  deal  with  the  grotesque  in  American  life,  and 
give  these  to  their  readers  as  characteristic  of  Americanos. 
I  was  told  that  Dowie  finds  frequent  mention  as  an  illustration 
of  the  eccentricities  of  Protestantism.  The  city  is  narrowly 
Roman  Catholic,  and  the  Protestant  converts  have  a  hard  road 
to  travel.  However,  there  is  a  real  revolution  on  foot  between 
the  government  and  the  hierarchy,  and  the  powers  of  the 
church  are  considerably  curtailed.  The  monasteries  have 
been  closed,  and  one  or  more  have  been  forfeited  to  the  gov- 
ernment. It  is  thus  that  liberty  is  to  come  in  Roman  Catholic 
countries,  as  already  it  has  come  in  Mexico,  and  somewhat  in 
Portugal,  through  the  liberal  element  in  the  Church  itself. 

The  beautiful  public  garden  is  built  where  once  was  a 
monastery.  They  tell  weird  and  creepy  tales  of  what  they 
found  when  it  was  demolished — bones  in  unexpected  places, 
and   a  subterranean   tunnel   down   to   the   sea.      The   place   is 


MADEIRA,  THE  LAND  OF  THE  WINE 


39 


luxurious  with  flowers  now,  and  the  gardener,  who  speaks 
fair  English,  told  me  that  he  is  a  Presbyterian.  The  Presby- 
terian Mission  is  directly  opposite  the  garden.  It  is  a  Scotch 
mission,  and  has  a  neat  little  church.  Near  at  hand,  and 
directly  fronting   on   the  garden,  is   the  American    Methodist 


FUNCHAL   HARBOR    FROM    THE   CASINO 
Photograph  by  Mrs.  F.  B.  Newell 

Mission.  Its  larger  work  is  among  the  peasants  in  the  moun- 
tains, but  there  are  signs  of  progress,  though  against  great 
odds,  in  the  city.  Hishoj)  Martzell,  whose  diocese  includes 
much,  and  perhaps  all,  of  Africa,  was  visiting  the  mission  when 
we  were  there.  Several  American  ministers  from  the  ship 
participated  in  a  service  with  him,  and  breakfasted  with  him 
next  day.  Rev.  Mr.  Nind  of  America,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Smart 
of    England    are    the    resident    missionaries,    and    the    work. 


40  illK   OLD    WORLD    IN     IHE    NEW    CENTURY 

while  imicli  mow  icccnt  tli.in  tliat  of  the  rresb\-terian.s, 
is  heiiiL;  puslietl  with  an  eiieri;}'  characteristic  of  American 
Methodism. 

Tlie  direct  imports  from  Americi  .ire  few.  Petroleum  and 
its  protlucts  and  wheat  are  the  principal  commodities.  Little 
or  uo  tlonr  is  imported,  as  the  p^overnment  tliscriminates  in 
fa\or  of  home  industries.  About  five  merchants  have  the 
riy;ht  to  import  wheat,  and  the  government  determines  how 
much  each  man  ma\-  brint;'  in.  The  flour  ground  on  the 
island  is  of  fair  tpiality,  and  makes  good   bread. 

One  thing  the  people  of  I'unchal  have  learned  about 
America,  ami  it  interests  them;  namely,  that  we  have  lately 
begun  annexing  islands.  They  know  this  because,  as  subjects 
of  Portugal,  they  are  not  wholly  ignorant  of  affairs  in  Spain. 
As  Spain  has  yielded  uj)  her  islands  to  the  Americanos,  they 
do  not  see  why  Portugal  may  not  do  the  same,  and  some  of 
them  are  pleased  with  the  idea.  Portugal  is  little  loved  on 
the  island,  so  at  least  I  was  told,  and  England  is  not  popu- 
lar. Madeira  might  do  far  worse  than  to  be  taken  in  hand 
b}'  this  great  dollar-producing  and  island-acquiring  land  of 
America,  so  at  least  some  of  them  think. 

The  climate  permits  much  outdoor  life,  and  the  men  seem 
to  live  on  the  streets.  The  women  do  not  walk  out  much 
with  the  men,  but  all  the  houses  have  windows  and  balconies 
from  which  they  may  see  the  world  as  it  passes  between  them 
and  the  opposite  wall.  These  balconies  are  an  unspeakable 
boon  to  the  women,  and  there  are  lattices  through  which  they 
may  see  life  to  advantage  and  without  publicity.  Courtships 
are  arranged  through  a  third  party.  The  young  man  may 
come,  after  a  time,  and  visit  from  the  street,  while  his  sweet- 
heart peeps  out  of  the  window,  the  length  of  his  call  being  a 
test  of  his  devotion;  for  he  must  take  the  weather  as  he 
finds  it. 

Few  people  in  Funchal  speak  English.  One  Chicago  lady, 
having  been  answered  many  times  in  Portuguese,  saw  a  young 
fellow  in  sailor  garb,  and  with  strong  emphasis  on  each  word, 
and  a  gesture  as  well  with   each,  demanded,    "Do-you-speak- 


MADEIRA,  THE  LAND  OF  THE  WINE 


41 


English?"  In  the  broadest  of  Yorkshire  speech  the  Briton 
answered,  "Rawther!" 

Americans  arriving  in  Madeira  are  interested  in  finding  the 
house  where  Christopher  Columbus  lived.  The  house  is  no 
longer  standing,  but  the  site  is  marked.  It  is  seldom  inquired 
for,  however,  and  thereby  hangs  a  tale. 

A    party    of   our   ladies    undertook   to    find    the    home    of 


MAIJEIKA    THRliSHlNG    FLOOR 


Columbus,  and  tlicir  guide  assured  ihcni  that  he  could  take 
them  to  the  jilace.  He  soon  showed  such  ignorance,  how- 
ever, that  they  discarded  liini  and  took  another  guide,  who 
vowed  by  all  the  saints  held  in  re\'erence  in  Madeira  that  he 
knew  the  way.  Ui)  one  narrow  street  antl  down  another  he 
led  them,  gathering  other  natives  as  he  went,  shouting  for 
information  here  and  there  in  Portuguese,  and  handing  it 
down  to  his  followers  in  hioken  I'.nglish.  lie  sto[)ped  at 
several  corners  and  changed  his  plan  as  otiiers  gave  him  infor- 
mation, and    carh    natix'e  who    told    jiim    the    \\:\v    joined    ihe 


42  THK   OLD    WORLD    IN     LllK    NEW    CENTURY 

tliroii;^".  so  the  crowil  ;j^re\v.  At  last  lie  stopped  with  an 
impressive  «;esture.  ami  commamliiiL;-  all  to  wait,  tlisappeared 
into  an  ancient-lookin;^'  honse.  lie  was  L;'one  a  lons^  time, 
anil  the\-  wonckix-d  what  had  happened,  and  he^an  to  think 
ot  luulinL;"  their  ua\-  haek  withont  him.  Hnt  at  last  he 
appearetl.  ilisappointed,  and  visibly  sad.  lie  had  sorrowful 
news  to  break,  and  he  prepared  to  do  it  i^entiy.  They  had 
hartl  work  to  i;et  him  to  impart  his  information.  Jkit  at  last, 
gathering;  himself  together,  and  striking  a  tragic  attitude,  he 
exclaimed : 

"Christopher  Columbo  no  live  here!  He  dead!" 
This  is  no  Mark  Twain  story,  but  a  sure-enough  true  inci- 
dent. The  man  was  absolutely  sincere.  Not  only  so,  but  he 
was  amazed  at  the  effect  of  his  news.  The  Americans  broke 
out  into  a  roar  of  laughter,  which  contrasted  strangely  with 
his  grief  for  their  sake  over  the  death  of  Christopher  Columbus. 
He  stood,  and  the  other  natives  stood,  bev/ildered,  and  won- 
dering how  the  death  of  Christopher  Columbus  should  so 
affect  the  people  who  had  inquired  so  earnestly  about  him. 
Could  they  be  insane?  He  had  expected  to  present  these 
.strangers  to  their  one  acquaintance  on  the  island,  and  when 
they  learned  that  he  was  dead  they  laughed  immoderately. 
Unfortunately  they  could  not  make  him  understand  the  situ- 
ation as  they  saw  it,  and  he  led  them  back,  much  disap- 
pointed in  them.  Doubtless  he  still  wonders  what  kind  of 
people  Americans  can  be. 

The  favorite  musical  instrument  of  Madeira  is  the  ma- 
chette,  a  small  guitar  with  four  strings  tuned  to  fifths.  It  lacks 
the  mellowness  of  the  guitar,  and  the  voices  of  the  people 
which  accompany  it  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  musical ;  yet  the 
two  combine  to  give  pleasing  effects.  A  little  group  of  us 
were  making  our  way  through  the  outskirts  of  Funchal  in  the 
evening  when  we  heard  a  machette  approaching,  and  soon 
discerned  three  young  men  marching  abreast,  filling  the  little 
narrow  street  from  side  to  side,  and  singing  as  they  came. 
We  stood  in  an  angle  where  the  wall  was  low,  and  waited. 
The  evening  was  settling   into  night,  and  all  was  still  save  for 


MADEIRA.  THE  LAND  OF  THE  WINE 


43 


the  voices  and  the  instrument.  Across  the  way  a  girl  appeared 
on  the  balcony  and  leaned  over.  The  warm,  moist  air,  laden 
with  perfumes  from  the  gardens  below  us,  clung  to  us  with  a 
dreamy,  far-away  feeling.  Nearer  came  the  young  men,  their 
feet  falling  hard  on  the  sharp  stone  pavement,  keeping  time 


} 

HH^^&L 

^^^R 

^v      '^'^M 

^^Hl'j* 

n 

r' 

J 

"THROUGH    THK    T(»\VN    RUSH    FUAMING    MOUNTAIN    STREAMS" 
Photograph  by  Mrs.  K.  H.  Newell 

to  the  little  staccato  notes  of  the  machette.  The  young  men 
marched  past,  the  girl  still  hung  over  and  listened,  perhaps 
disappointed,  perhaps  curious,  perhaps  both.  We  stood  ami 
listened  while  the  footsteps  and  llic  music  died  away,  and 
then  went  on,  feeling  somehow  as  if  wc  had  torn  a  leaf  out 
of  a  story-book. 

Madeira  abounds  in  birds.  There  only  and  in  the  Canary 
Islands  are  found  tlic  green  canaries,  whose  song  wakes  the 
dawn    with    a    llood    of   music.       Those   of   our  company   who 


44 


Tin:  (^1.1)  woKi.n  in  thi-:  ni:\v  cknti'rv 


spent    tlic    uiL^'iit    ashore   woke    to   a    chorus  of   ten   thousand 
warblers,  sinj^ing  a  soni;'  tliat  maile  the  whole  ishnul  \'ocal. 

l^^mchal  is  a  clean  cit\'  e.\ternall\',  well  washetl  1)\'  the  rains 
and  streams,  and  this  feature,  together  with  tiie  cciuabie  climate, 
makes  it  a  very  paradise  of  good  health.  Through  the  town 
rush   foaming   mountain    streams,  which   keep   the  city  clean. 


CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBO   NO   LIVE    HERE!" 


Down  in  the  ravines,  which  the  high  bridges  span,  the  women 
wash  their  clothes,  paddling  them  on  the  rocks  beside  the 
stream.  The  island  is  as  free  from  snakes  as  Ireland,  and  the 
only  mosquito  is  a  little  boat  of  that  name  which  came  out  to 
meet  us  flying  the  American  flag. 

Madeira  lies  between  latitude  32°  i"]'  and  32°  52'  north, 
and  longitude  16°  36' and  17°  16' west.  The  ordinary  range 
of  the  thermometer  is  from  63  to  75,  and  the  difference  in 
temperature  between  day  and  night  is  very  small.      The  island 


MADEIRA,  THE    LAND    OF    THE    WINE  45 

is  said  to  have  been  discovered  by  Robert  Macliin  and  Anna 
d'Arfet,  who  were  eloping  from  Portugal  and  endeavoring  to 
reach  France,  but  were  blown  away  to  this  better  spot,  where 
the  oldest  church  of  the  island  now  marks  their  alleged  grave. 
The  discovery  which  gave  Madeira  to  the  world  was  in  141  / 
by  the  Portuguese;  but  they  were  not  elopers,  so  no  one  built 
a  church  ov^cr  their  graves. 

Funchal  is  2,741  miles  from  New  York,  540  from  Ponta 
Delgada  in  the  Azores,  and  580  from  Gibraltar.  Our  time 
from  Sandy  Hook  to  Funchal  was  seven  days,  two  hours  and 
fifteen  minutes.  To  this  we  added  the  night  at  anchor  in 
Xew  York  harbor;  so  it  was  eight  days  from  the  time  we 
began  to  thaw  the  water-pipes  on  the  ship  till  we  rested  off 
that   most   beautiful   island. 

The  natives  were  disappointed  in  our  ship.  They  heard 
that  she  was  the  largest  in  the  world,  and  when  they  found 
her  smaller  than  the  island,  they  felt  that  they  had  been 
imposed  upon.  We  were  sorry  not  to  fulfil  their  hopes  of  us, 
for  their  island  more  than  doubly  met  our  fondest  expecta- 
tions. I  have  no  desire  to  live  in  any  land  but  America;  but 
if  America  becomes  uninhabitable,  and  I  have  choice  of  a 
home,  I  shall  steer  straight  for  Madeira,  and  shall  expect  to 
find  most  of  my  friends  of  the  Celtic  already  in  residence  there. 
Other  places  in  our  pilgrimage  live  pleasant!)-  in  our  memory, 
but  Madeira  is  a  dream  of  beauty. 


ciiAPri<:R  111 

GIBRALTAR,   THE    BRITISH     I.ION    IN    STONE 

In  the  early  geologic  ages  there  were  no  Straits  of  Gibral- 
tar. The  range  of  mountains,  of  which  Gibraltar  and  the 
corresponding  headlands  on  the  coast  of  Africa  are  the  survi- 
vors, quite  shut  in  the  Mediterranean,  which  then,  or  at  some 
other  period,  emptied,  if  it  emptied  at  all,  into  the  Red  Sea, 
through  the  Gulf  of  Suez. 

A  glance  at  the  map  shows  Asia  and  Africa  joined  by  an 
isthmus  of  sand.  This  isthmus  was  nearly  severed  by  the 
Bitter  Lakes,  and  the  Suez  Canal  has  completed  the  separa- 
tion; so  that  these  two  continents  are  now  divided  nearly  as 
they  were  in  some  prehistoric  period.  But  Europe  and  Africa 
ha\e  between  them  a  narrow  strait  cut  through  a  mountain 
range.  Surely  Europe  and  Africa  once  were  united,  while 
Africa  and  Asia  looked  at  each  other  across  the  Suez  Strait. 
There  came  a  time  when  the  pent-up  waters  of  this  island  sea 
pushed  for  an  outlet  westward  through  the  coast  range,  the 
mighty  ocean  to  the  westward  beating  incessantly  against  its 
front  the  while,  and  every  spring  that  trickled  down  through 
the  calcareous  rock  hollowed  out  a  bed  or  cavern  which  slowly 
but  surely  made  inroads  on  the  hill.  Earthquakes  may  have 
had  their  share  in  the  ultimate  sundering  of  the  coast  line, 
and  so  at  length  the  strait  of  Gibraltar  was  formed,  thirty-six 
miles  long  and  nine  miles  wide  at  its  narrowest  point. 

Like  the  sea  itself,  the  flood  of  humanity  about  it  gathered 
its  waters  and  overflowed.  Upon  its  shores  a  hundred  civili- 
zations clustered  and  pressed  one  upon  another.  Shut  in 
temporarily  by  deserts,  forests  and  mountain  ranges,  they  over- 
flowed at  length,  tricklingacrossdeserts,  burstingthrough  moun- 
tain passes,  and  losing  themselves  in  dense  forests,  on  whose 
further  side  they  later  emerged  stern,  fierce  and  unconquerable. 

46 


GIBRALTAR,  THE    BRITISH    LlOX    IN   STONE 


47 


It  is  inaccurate  to  say  that  the  Mediterranean  now  empties 
into  the  Atlantic.  The  current  sets  inward  from  the  ocean. 
The  Mediterranean  has  hardly  any  tide,  and  the  evaporation 
from  its  vast  surface,  and  that  of  its  tributary  seas,  is  thought 
to  account  for  the  ceaseless  inflow  of  water  from  the  ocean. 
There  may  also  be  subterranean  currents  that  flow  into  the 
Atlantic  from  the  Mediterranean.  Had  the  Mediterranean 
retained   its  outlet   through   the   Gulf   of   Suez,  and   failed   to 


THE   BRITISH    LION    IN    STONE 

secure  one  through  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar,  the  history  of  the 
world  would  have  been  greatly  changed. 

The  Phrenicians,  who  were  the  first  navigators  of  this 
region,  named  the  rock  of  Gibraltar  "Alube,"  and  the  Greeks 
modified  this  name  to  "Calpe."  Calpe  and  Ceuta,  the  oppo- 
site points  on  the  African  coast,  formed  the  pillars  of 
Hercules.  This  gigantic  gateway,  so  the  ancients  thought, 
led  only  to  darkness  and  chaos;  and  above  it  was  inscribed 
the  imaginary  legend,  '' Nc plus  ultra.''  Kut  there  was  some- 
thing beyond,  and  the  ships  which  pushed  through  between 
the  Pillars  and  mafic  timid  explonitions  along  the  coast  grew 
increasingly  bold,  until  at  length  Columbus  sailed  out  thence, 


■jS  llli:    OIH    WOKID    IN    'I'llI".    \K\V    CKNTURY 

plowed  his  w.i\-  across  the  uncharted  ocean,  ami  toinul 
Anieiica.  (M\en  a  port  such  as  H.iicelona  on  the  Mediter- 
rane.m.  and  an  outlet  into  the  ocean,  and  Anu-rica  must  be 
discovered  in  time.  Hut  America  miLjht  ha\e  uaitetl  long 
for  Columbus,  anil  even  the  coast  of  luirope  remained  f(^r 
a  C(^nsiderable  periotl  undeveloped,  had  the  world  waited  for 
civilization  to  push  its  w  a\-  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
Africa  might  not  then  ha\'e  remained  the  dark  continent,  but 
to  the  westward  things  would  have  moved  slowly. 

Gibraltar  itself  was  not  highly  esteemed  by  the  early 
explorers  for  military  purposes,  but  the  Barbary  pirates  long 
held  their  possession  at  Tarifa,  where  for  generations  they 
maintained  the  castle  still  in  existence  and  levied  a  toll  on 
the  passing  vessels.  A  reminder  of  this  custom  we  still  possess 
in  our  English  word  "tariff."  The  rock  passed  successively 
from  the  Romans  to  the  Goths,  and  then  to  the  Spaniards, 
but  its  first  military  importance  was  discovered  when  the 
Moors  crossed  the  straits  and  established  themselves  in  Spain. 
Tarik  was  the  name  of  the  Moorish  conqueror,  and  his  name 
is  still  borne  b}'  the  rock :  for  gibel  means  rock,  and  Gibraltar 
means  rock  of  Tarik. 

For  nearly  eight  hundred  years  the  Moors  and  Spaniards 
contended  wM'th  each  other  for  possession  of  Gibraltar.  In 
1309  Ferdinand  IV  captured  it  after  fourteen  sieges.  In 
twenty-two  years  the  Moors  had  it  again,  l)ut  in  1462  the 
Spaniards  regained  it.  Still  the  Moors  contended  for  it,  and 
when  Columbus  wanted  money  for  his  expedition,  the  king's 
answer  was  that  he  could  not  spare  it,  because  of  an  approach- 
ing war  with  the  Moors. 

So  Isabella  came  forward  with  her  jewels,  and  Columbus 
sailed.  The  king  invested  his  money  in  warring  against  his 
hereditary  foe,  and  the  queen  invested  hers  in  the  discovery 
of  the  world  beyond  the  sunset.  Spain  did  not  wholly  under- 
stand the  value  of  the  fortress  from  which  she  had,  with  such 
difficulty,  driven  the  Moors.  The  fortifications  were  improved, 
and  a  hundred  cannon  frowned  down  upon  the  approach  of 
any  foe,  but  with  the  hundred  cannon  were  onl\-  one  hundred 


GIBRALTAR,  THE    BRITISH    LION    IN    STONE 


49 


and    fifty    men.      Spain    failed,    as    she    has    since    failed,    to 
remember  the  importance  of  "the  man  behind  the  gun." 

In  1705  Sir  George  Rooke  attempted  an  expedition  against 
Barcelona,  and  having  failed,  captured  Gibraltar,  without 
orders,  in  the  name  of  the  Archduke  of  Austria.  It  is 
almost  always  safe  for  the  commander  of  a  fleet  to  do  a  daring 
thing  to  his  own  country's  advantage,  on  his  own  responsi- 
bility; his  government  can  disavow  the  act  if  it  wants  to,  and 


MAI'   OF   THE    CKLISE 


promote  him  when  the  trouble  is  over.  England,  knowing  a 
good  thing  when  she  saw  it,  determined  to  hold  the  lion's 
share  of  the  spoil,  but  forgot  to  reward  the  man  who  won  the 
fortress  for  her.  It  would  be  unbecoming  in  an  American  to 
characterize  this  act  of  England,  but  the  !".nc\-clo]);cdia 
Britannica  has  done  so  in  a  thoroughgoing  \va\-.  The  trt.ity 
of  Utrecht  in  1713  confirmed  I-'.ngland's  title  to  Gihialtar, 
but  Spain  refuses  to  this  day  to  concede  I-Jigland's  right  to 
the  possession. 

In  1779  the  liritish  general  iiuiL;oyiic  surrendered  his 
army  to  the  American  colonists,  and  I'Vance  and  Spain  seized 
the    opporluiiil\-    then    afforded    to    make    war    on    England. 


50  THK    0\.\i   WdRl.n    IN     1111     \i:W    CENTURY 

Then  bc^an  the  sieL;c  o{  Gibraltar,  which  lastinl  till  i;^^,  and 
which  is  so  ]iict  urcs(iiu-ly  Llcscribctl  by  l)rinkwatcr  and  by  l^r. 
llcni\-  M.  I'icUl.  l.ortl  Goort^c  Augustus  I'-lliott  was  hero  of 
this  sicL;c.  and  tlcfcndcd  the  fortress  ai^ainst  storm,  strategy 
and  starvation  w  ith  tleeds  of  valor  that  place  him  in  the  front 
rank  oi  military  lieroes.  When  at  last  he  repulsed  his  enemies 
with  red-hot  cannond)alls  that  fired  their  shi])s,  his  humanity 
in  savin;^  the  lives  of  his  i)erishing  foemen  gave  a  new  illus- 
tration of  the  poet's  words, 

"The  bravest  are  the  tenderest; 
The  loving  are  the  daring." 

From  that  day  to  this  Gibraltar  has  remained  the  undis- 
turbed possession  of  Great  Britain.  A  lion  couchant  the  great 
rock  stands,  holding  its  prey  so  dearly  won.  There  is  no 
better  type  of  l^ritish  determination  and  aggressiveness  than 
this  huee  rock  lion  with  formidable  claws  and  teeth,  main- 
tained,  not  on  the  shores  of  its  own  domain,  but  at  the  cross- 
roads of  the  great  highways  of  trafific  of  three  continents.  I 
had  always  supposed  that  the  lion's  head  was  toward  the 
strait;   instead  it  faces  Spain. 

Gibraltar  lies  in  latitude  36°  6'  north,  being  thus  almost 
exactly  on  a  line  with  the  southern  boundary  of  Missouri,  the 
famous  36°  30'  of  the  compromises  before  the  Civil  War,  Its 
longitude  is  5°  21'  west.  It  is  580  miles  from  Funchal  and 
410  from  Algiers.  The  bay  and  town  of  Gibraltar  are  on  the 
west,  where  the  rock  slopes  down  toward  the  ocean.  The 
rock  lies  almost  exactly  north  and  south,  is  three  miles  long 
and  seven  miles  in  circumference.  The  southern  extremity  is 
known  as  Europa  Point.  On  the  north  it  is  joined  to  Spain 
by  a  low  sandy  isthmus,  across  which,  from  east  to  west,  are 
two  rows  of  sentry  boxes,  with  a  barren  strip  of  neutral  ground, 
perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide,  between. 

Gibraltar  is  not  as  barren  as  it  looks.  There  are  five  hun- 
dred species  of  flora  on  this  rock,  including  many  varieties  of 
fern;  the  native  fauna  aj)pear  to  consist  chiefly  of  a  few 
Barbary  apes.  These  are  rigidly  protected,  and  one  might, 
with  as   little  i)eril,  insult   a  British    soldier   under  the   Union 


GIBRALTAR,  THE    BRITISH    LIOX    IX   STONE  51 

Jack  as  abuse  a  Gibraltar  ape.  We  were  unable  to  see  one 
when  there.      They  are  the  only  native  apes  in  Europe. 

The  rock  of  which  Gibraltar  is  composed  is  limestone,  and 
is  honeycombed  with  caves.  Some  of  these  are  noted,  but 
more  noted  are  the  galleries,  which  may  be  visited  by  permis- 
sion of  the  military  secretary.  Here  the  cannon  rise  tier  on 
tier  to  the  summit  which  at  the  highest  point  is  1,396  feet 
above  the  water.  There  are  patches  of  arable  ground,  and 
these  since  the  days  of  Elliott  have  been  industriously  tilled. 
Although  on]\-  530  miles  from  Funchal,  Madeira,  where  the 
temperature  varies  only  a  few  degrees  in  the  whole  year, 
Gibraltar  is  very  hot  in  summer,  though  delightful  at  the 
season  of  our  visit. 

Although  so  characteristically  British,  Gibraltar  is  not 
wholly  without  American  affiliations.  An  American  life- 
insurance  company  has  made  a  trade-mark  of  its  picture,  and 
this  is  so  widely  published  that  a  letter  mailed  in  Europe  with 
a  picture  of  Gibraltar  on  the  outside,  and  no  other  direction, 
has  been  known  to  arrive  safe  in  New  Jersey  at  the  office  of 
the  company. 

The  American  consul  at  Gibraltar  for  man}-  years  was  Hon. 
Horatius  J.  Sprague,  who  was  appointed  by  President  Polk  in 
1848,  and  held  his  position  till  his  death  a  very  few  years  ago. 
He  has  been  succeeded  by  his  son.  The  elder  Sprague  was 
said  to  have  entertained  more  distinguished  Americans  than 
any  other  man  on  earth.  Probably  neither  he  nor  his  son 
ever  entertained  so  many  of  their  countrymen  at  one  time  as 
those  on  board  the  Celtic.  The  .Spragues,  both  father  and 
son,  won  the  respect  of  the  people  of  Gibraltar.  The  son  is 
held  in  esteem,  and  the  father's  memory  honored.  It  would 
seem  the  part  of  wisdom  for  our  government  to  secure  such 
men  for  our  foreign  consulate,  and  then  continue-  them  as  in 
this  case. 

Many  ships  of  iiiaii\-  kinds  ha\e  stirred  the  waters  of 
Gibraltar  Straits;  the  nu^st  primitive  crafts  of  the  early  navi- 
gators plied  here,  and  here  were  rowed  the  triremes  of  ancient 
warfare;   smugglers  and  j^iratcs,  merchant  ships  of  all  nations, 


5-  rill-:  oil)  wDui.n  i\  tiiI':  m^v  CKNTiin' 

aiul  nion-()|-\\  .11"  i)l  .ill  iia\'ics  li.i\c  (.lropj)ccl  ancluir  in  the 
harbor  of  Ciibr.ilt.u" :  i)iit  the  Celtic  was  by  far  the  hu'i^est  ship 
that  ever  ]iasseel  iiiuler  the  i;"uns  of  the  x'enerable  fortress, 
.uul  the  company  of  Americans  which  she  bore  by  far  tlie 
larL;est  e\'er  sailing;  on  such  a  cruise  as  this.  There  was  much 
of  interest  to  us  in  tiibraltar;  it  \\as  pleasant  to  learn  that  we 
and  our  cruise  were  of  interest  to  Gibraltar  herself  and  to  the 
ports  beyond. 

Whoever  pjoes  ashore  at  Gibialtar  does  so  with  a  military 
permit,  allowing;  him  to  remain  to  evening;  L;un  fire.  After 
that,  no  one  may  pass  in  or  out.  Tourists  are  shown  the 
rock  galleries  made  in  1789,  and  the  guns  in  the  casements. 
This  is  intended  to  satisfy  the  curiosity  of  visitors,  and  make 
them  think  that  they  have  seen  the  real  strength  of  the  place. 
In  fact,  we  did  not  see  one  modern  gun,  nor  any  fortifica- 
tions such  as  would  now  be  relied  upon.  There  are,  lunvever, 
such  modern  earthworks,  with  their  disappearing  guns,  and 
more  are  building.  No  camera  is  allowed,  and  no  one  is  per- 
mitted to  visit  the  fortifications  of  real  military  importance. 
The  Gibraltar  of  old  is  not  the  Gibraltar  that  would  now  be 
relied  upon  in  war.  An  English  magazine  has  published  an 
article  on  "The  Uselessness  of  Gibraltar."  It  may  not  be 
useless.  It  is  still  the.  key  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  every 
ship  entering  or  leaving  it  does  so  under  the  muzzle  of  her 
guns.  The  moral  value  of  such  a  place  is  something.  The 
Duke  of  Wellington,  having  met  a  distinguished  American 
senator  and  being  asked  his  opinion  of  him,  is  said  to  have 
replied,  "Sir,  no  man  could  be  as  great  as  Daniel  Webster 
looked."  No  fort  could  be  cjuite  so  impregnable  as  Gibraltar 
seems.  To  look  at  it  is  to  feel  the  strength  of  Britain's 
power  at  this  long  arm's  length.  And  when  I  saw  the  now 
obsolete  work  on  which  so  many  millions  have  been  expended, 
I  could  only  hope  that  another  century  of  peace  may  render 
all  her  present  warlike  preparation  at  Gibraltar  ecpially  obso- 
lete, and  that  ere  long  the  same  may  be  true  of  all  warlike 
preparations  everywhere. 

In  viewing  a  foreign  city,  much   depends  on   the  weather. 


GIBRALTAR,  THE    BRITISH    LION    IX    STONE 


53 


When  two  persons  give  diametrically  opposite  impressions  of 
a  foreign  town  it  is  safe  to  inquire  about  the  weather  when 
the\'  made  their  respective  visits.  On  a  sunny  day  Gibraltar 
may  relax  its  stern  front  into  something  of  a  smile;  but  when 
it  rains  it  is  gloomy  enough,  and  the  clouds  seem  a  part  of 
the  fort  and  place.  The  location  is  picturesque,  but  the  town 
is   ugly,  the   buildings   are   a   dingy   brown   or  gray,  and   the 


GIBRALTAR    FROM    THE   SPANISH    LINES 


military  aspect  dominates  everything.  The  population  is 
about  twenty-six  thousand,  exclusive  of  the  garrison,  which 
numbers  some  five  thousand  more.  The  shops  are  small,  for 
the  rents  are  very  high.  The  market  is  a  busy  and  not  uninxit- 
ing  place.  The  costumes  of  the  peDjjIc  \'ar\'  from  the  com- 
monj^lace  dress  of  tradesmen  to  the  rich  and  llouing  robes  of 
stockingless  Moors,  anil  the  soldiers  in  their  coats  of  red  and 
khaki,  with  bare-kneed  highlanders  here  and  there,  and  anon 
the  tyjiical  Tommy  Atkins  with  his  impossible  hat  on  llu- 
northeast   corner  of   his  head.       It   i^  the  ninth  woiulcr  of    the 


54  11 II"    Ol.n    WOK  1.1)    IN    THE    NEW   CENTURY 

woikl  liou  l^ni;laiul  can  over  ^ct  a  rc-al  soldier  under  such  a 
ridiculous  hat.  yd  Tonini)'  is  interesting  even  in  his  least 
serviceable  garb. 

Between  the  city  of  Gibraltar  and  the  adjacent  Spanish 
town  of  Linia  there  is  a  constant  procession  of  donkeys,  laden 
as  they  come  in  with  produce,  and  they  go  out  with  nobody 
knows  what — nobody  except  the  Spanish  custom  house  offi- 
cers, who  search  them  vigorously.  Pedestrians,  also,  undergo 
a  thorough  inspection  at  the  lines.  It  was  interesting  to  find 
that  our  company  of  American  tourists  passed  through 
unsearched.  Spain  seemed  disposed  to  treat  America  cour- 
teously. We  were  told  that  such  respect  was  seldom  shown 
to  strangers,  and  we  partly  believed  it,  as  we  saw  baskets 
unpacked  and  handkerchief  bundles  untied  in  search  of  smug- 
ffled  eoods.  There  is  a  marked  contrast  between  the  two 
towns  in  cleanliness,  and  much  besides. 

In  Linia  the  tourists  of  our  party  visited  a  public  school. 
There  were  forty  or  fifty  boys,  several  of  them,  including  the 
teacher,  smoking  cigarettes.  Several  of  the  boys  had  seats 
on  the  floor.  Gibraltar  has  excellent  endowed  schools  and 
few  illiterates,  but  the  popular  institution  of  Linia  is  the 
bull-ring. 

While  the  naval  importance  of  Gibraltar  brings  all  sorts  of 
products  to  the  town,  it  is  not  a  good  place  to  buy  souvenirs. 
Gibraltar  has  no  character  of  its  own,  and  few  if  any  memen- 
toes of  local  value.  Our  party  came  back  laden  with  woven 
grass  baskets  filled  with  Spanish  oranges,  and  these  were 
good  enough  to  compensate  for  the  meagerness  of  our  pur- 
chases at  the  bazaars.  Besides,  we  had  abundant  use  for  our 
money  later  on. 

There  is  use  on  such  a  tour  as  ours  for  very  many  kinds 
of  people.  The  man  who  knows  all  the  facts,  and  therewith 
perpetually  bombards  his  helpless  fellow  travelers,  even  he  has 
his  occasional  uses;  but  far  more  useful,  and  among  those  to 
be  held  in  highest  regard,  is  the  ignorant,  talkative  woman, 
who  is  not  ashamed  to  ask  the  questions  which  all  the  rest 
are  eager  to  ask,  but  dare  not  lest  they  betray  their  ignorance. 


GIBRALTAR,  THE    BRITISH    LIOX    IX    STONE 


55 


The  man  who  clambers  about  Gibraltar  not  far  behind  such  a 
benefactress  may  himself  acquire  great  reputation  for  knowl- 
edge by  passing  back  the  information  which  he  overhears,  and 
perchance  may  later  make  thereof  a  book. 

On  the  whole,  we  are  glad  that  Britain  has  Gibraltar. 
Beneath  the  red  cross  of  England  are  cleanliness,  enlighten- 
ment and  good  order;  and  one  has  only  to  drive  to  Linia  to 
guess  what  would  be  if  Spain  had  her  old  fortress  again.  Let 
England  keep  Gibraltar  just  as  long  as  she  can  afford  it. 
Plymouth  Rock  is  good  enough  for  us. 


PliASAM     (>IKL>    M1NMN(. 


CHAPTER  IV 

ALCIKRS.    THK    HOME    OF    THE    PIRATES 

"A  soldier  of  the  legion  lay  cl^'ing  in  Algiers."  This  was 
the  onl\-  line  of  poetry  that  was  well  known  among  us  con- 
cerning the  interesting  port  at  \\hich  we  stopped  next  after 
Gibraltar.  We  quoted  it  often,  apropos  of  nothing  in  particu- 
lar. And  as  it  turned  out,  we  came  as  near  dying  there  as 
anywhere. 

One  of  the  first  announcements  concerning  landings  warned 
us  that  wc  should  have  a  hard  time  and  would  need  to  exer- 
cise patience  at  Madeira,  but  that  at  Gibraltar  we  should 
have  very  large  tenders,  and  that  at  Algiers  the  small  steam- 
ers would  ply  often  between  the  shore  and  ship.  It  all  went 
by  contraries.  At  Madeira  we  had  a  delightful  landing  in 
small  boats.  At  Gibraltar  the  large  tenders  took  so  long  to 
fill  that  there  were  delays,  and  the  weather  was  unpleasant  to 
boot.  But  at  Algiers  we  had  our  first  real  experience  with 
landing.  Instead  of  going  inside  the  harbor,  as  most  of  us 
had  assumed,  and  as  the  conductor  evidently  expected,  our 
ship  dropped  anchor  far  outside.  We  were  in  a  happy  frame 
of  mind,  for  we  made  up  time  between  Gibraltar  and  Algiers, 
and  were  to  have  an  evening  on  shore  in  addition  to  our 
advertised  time.  But  the  tenders  that  were  to  have  conveyed 
us  ashore  were  quite  unequal  to  the  task  of  taking  so  large  a 
company  so  long  a  distance,  and  so  we  went  ashore  on  scows, 
towed  by  the  tenders.  The  tenders  themselves  brought  us 
back  in  smaller  groups,  and  those  who  went  ashore  in  the  rain 
the  first  evening  returned  without  difficulty,  and  saw  a  most 
interesting  and  varied  city  by  lamplight. 

Next  morning  it  rained  hard,  and  the  sea  rose  with  the 
storm.  Only  half  the  people  went  ashore,  and  these  drove 
around    in  the  rain,  and    saw,  most  of   them,  quite  enough  to 

5^^ 


ALGIERS,  THE    HOME    OF   THE    PIRATES  57 

reward  them  for  the  effort.  But  when  we  attempted  to 
return  after  noon,  we  found  the  sea  dashing  high  over  the 
breakwater,  and  the  Celtic  pulling  hard  at  her  anchor-chains. 
One  tender  went  out  with  passengers  on  board,  and  was 
unable  to  get  theni  onto  the  ship.  Then  another  went  out 
with  a  few  passengers,  and  succeeded  in  embarking  them. 
The  sea  was  rolling  higher  all  the  time,  but  the  success  of  the 


THE    PUBLIC   GARDEN,    ALGIERS 

last  boat  encouraged  another  attempt,  and  it  proved  the  last 
for  that  day. 

I  was  on  this  last  little  steamer  that  attempted  to  reach 
the  Celtic.  I'^ven  before  we  were  outside  the  breakwater  we 
were  rolling  considerabh',  and  when  we  came  into  llu'  oi)en 
sea  wc  pitched  and  tossed  fii;^litfully.  The  great  waves  came 
rolling  far  above  us,  lifting  the  little  l)o.it  on  their  crest,  anil 
sometimes  breaking  over  her,  and  at  length  dropjjing  her. 
drenched  and  quivering,  in  the  trough. 

The  saihjrs  surprised  me  greatly.  I  had  expected  to  find 
these   descendants  of   pirates  adepts   at    li.mdling   any  sort  of 


sS  'nil-.  o\.\)  WOK  in  IN   11 1 1',  m:\\'  century 

w.itor-craft.  Wlu-tlu-r  tlu-y  were  frightened  or  siinpl)'  stu])i(ll}' 
inctMiiiieteiU.  1  clonal  know;  probably  they  were  both.  When 
the  captain  shtuited  an  inder  each  man  adtiresscil  would  spread 
out  his  hands,  p. dm  tl(n\n  and  fingers  spread,  in  a  gesture  of 
the  most  hopeless  incompetence,  and  jabber  back  protests  and 
declarations  that  it  was  impossible.  It  would  have  served 
them  right  if  the  captain  had  thrcnvn  one  or  two  of  them  over- 
boartl.  but  he  simpl\-  jabbered  at  them,  and  at  each  individu- 
all\-,  till  at  length  he  got  the  thing  done,  or  the  time  had 
passed  for  doing  it.  Even  with  the  most  skillful  management 
our  boat  wouUl  have  had  no  enviable  trip,  but  the  case  was 
far  worse  w  ith  management  such  as  we  saw. 

Most  of  the  ladies  went  into  the  little  cabin,  where  they 
huddled,  several  of  them  seasick,  and  all  of  them  resolute. 
There  were  seven  or  eight  of  them,  and  they  behaved  like 
heroines.  There  was  no  screaming  or  fainting,  but  there  was 
a  good  deal  of  pale  and  quiet  determination  to  see  it  through. 
The  men  behaved  well,  but  the  women  certainly  equaled 
them  in  coolness. 

The  Celtic  lay  with  her  bow  to  the  storm,  serene  as  Gibral- 
tar. To  us  it  seemed  that  she  remained  without  a  quiver  of 
her  keel;  but  we  rose  and  fell  not  less  than  thirty  feet,  and 
it  seemed  much  more.  We  made  two  ineffectual  attempts  to 
come  alongside,  but  were  carried  past  through  the  violence 
of  the  storm  and  the  incompetence  of  the  sailors.  If  I  am 
ever  to  be  attacked  by  pirates  who  attempt  to  board  my  ship, 
let  them  be  those  of  Algiers.  The  third  time  we  came  up  to 
the  bow  and  drifted  back,  catching  a  bowline  as  we  went 
along,  and  then  one  for  the  stern.  Moored  fast  to  the  side 
of  the  Celtic  we  had  ample  opportunity  to  measure  the  height 
of  the  waves  that  swept  along  her  side,  for  they  lifted  us  high 
against  the  side  and  then  dropped  us  far  below  the  red  load 
water-h'ne.  Once  we  rose  against  the  gangway,  and  one  or 
two  men  got  on,  but  in  that  instant  a  terrific  sea  broke  against 
us,  snapping  our  bowline.  The  wave  gave  us  a  fearful  pitch, 
and  we  attempted  to  stem  it  and  come  alongside  again,  but 
another  sea    caught    us    and   snapped   the   sternline,  and    we 


ALGIERS,  THE    HOME    OF   THE    PIRATES 


59 


Avere  hurled  away  as  if  from  a  catapult.  A  lady  on  deck  got 
a  snapshot  at  us  just  as  the  wave  had  passed,  and  we  were 
spinning  about.  It  was  certainly  a  perilous  moment.  When 
we  saw  the  red  line  on  the  Celtic  high  overhead,  it  seemed  as 
if  we  were  to  be  sucked  under  her  or  to  be  crushed  against 
her  side. 

We  righted,  and  came  up  to  the  bow  again,  and  with  diffi- 
culty, and  that  time  we  failed  to  get  the  line  that  was  thrown 


A    TKKKII-IC   SEA    BROKE,   SNAPPING    OUK    JJOWLINE 
Photograph  by  Miss  Anna  S.  Matthews 

to  US.  Our  little  steamer  faced  the  storm,  and  her  propeller 
whirled  rapidly,  now  in  tlie  water  and  then  out,  but  we  were 
drifted  back  along  the  side,  and  far  astern.  Above  us,  as  we 
went  past,  the  passengers  on  the  ship  rose  tier  on  tier  along 
the  decks,  watching  us  with  great  anxiety,  and  a  few  waved 
to  us;  but  on  board  our  boat  no  one  spoke  save  the  captain 
jabbering  at  his  men,  and  lliey  in  tiini  jal)l)cring  baclc  between 
their  chattering  teeth. 

A  third  time  we  came  up,  and  this  timt;  got  the  line  from 
the  bow;  but  before  we  einild  get  tin;  sternline  we  were 
hurled  against  the  side  of  tlu'  ship  with  great  x'iolcnee. 
Whether   the  line    broke  or  was   cast  oil    1  was   not    sure,  but 


6o  THE    OLD    WOULD    IN     1111      \KW    CENTURY 

wo  were  loose  attain  almost  before  we  were  fast,  and  tlieii  we 
he.iril  the  only  souiul  that  reaelied  us  from  the  ship,  tlie  shrill 
whistle  o(  the  IxKitsw  <iiii  warning;  us  to  desist. 

\\'e  tuined  ami  steamed  inside  the  breakwater,  built  by 
the  enforced  labor  of  thirty  tliousand  Christian  slaves,  who 
labored  three  years  at  its  construction,  and  came  to  land  at 
the  custom-house.  \W  this  time  scores  of  our  fellow  passen- 
gers were  on  the  dock,  and  the  railini;  along"  the  top  of  the 
qua\'  was  thront^ed  with  residents  watching  our  boat  and  the 
Celtic.  We  waited  for  perha[)s  two  hours,  hopelessly  hoping 
that  the  sea  wouUl  subside.  Meantime  every  possible  rumor 
spread  among  the  tourists  on  shore;  and  as  for  the  passengers 
who  remained  on  shipboard,  it  would  be  impossible,  and 
happily  so,  to  make  any  one  who  was  not  there  believe  how 
rapidly  false  rumors  could  circulate  among  truthful  people. 
During  the  next  twenty-four  hours  the  reports  of  what  the 
captain  said,  and  \\\\:\t  Mr.  Clark  said,  and  what  some  one 
who  had  been  here  before  said — as  that  the  Celtic  woidd  sail 
on,  antl  those  on  shore  must  make  their  way  to  Tunis  by  rail 
and  meet  the  ship  at  Malta;  or  that  the  Celtic  would  come 
inside  the  breakwater;  or  that  the  Celtic  could  not  come 
inside  the  breakwater;  or  that  the  Celtic  could  come  inside 
the  breakwater,  but  would  not — these  and  the  others  would 
of  themselves  make  a  book.  At  length  it  was  announced 
that  those  on  shore  must  stay  for  the  night,  and  provide  for 
themselves  as  best  they  could  in  the  hotels. 

Then  the  Celtic  put  farther  out  to  sea  to  secure  better 
anchorage,  and  the  storm  raged  on.  When  she  started,  many 
believed  that  she  had  sailed  on  her  course;  and  so  there  was 
needless  anxiety  on  the  i)art  of  the  timid,  with  much  wonder- 
ing whether  friends  were  on  board  or  on  shore. 

The  papers  of  Algiers  now  helped  matters  on  by  printing 
the  unfounded  rumor  that  a  boat-load  of  passengers  had  been 
capsized,  but  had  been  ])icketl  up  by  a  steamer.  They  took 
pains  to  say  that  this  rumor  was  unconfirmed,  and  reached 
them  just  as  they  were  going  to  press.  The  statement  that 
the   rumor  comes  in   just  as  the  paper  goes  to  press  seems  to 


ALGIERS,  THE    HOME    OF   THE    PIRATES 


6i 


justify  a  newspaper  yarn  in  any  part  of  the  world;  it  was  like 
being  at  home  to  meet  this  little  journalistic  ruse  so  far  away. 
But  the  Algerian  papers,  French  of  course,  spoke  very  kindly 
of  the  Celtic  people,  and  deplored  the  weather,  so  unlike  that 


TROPICAL    li)LlA(iE,   PUBLIC   GARDEN 


to  which  the  city  is  accustomed,  and  feared  lest  we  carr}- 
away  with  us  an  unf.u'orable  opinion  of  "Algiers  the  white." 
All  the  nearer  hotels  were  filletl,  and  1  found  t.-ntertain- 
mcnt  in  the  (irand,  in  i\Iusta])ha  Superior.  Mustapha  is  the 
prettiest  suburb  of  Algiers,  and  the  part  on  the  hill,  called 
Mustapha  .Superior,  is  particulruly  pleasant,  with  attractixn- 
villas  half-concealed  in  thickl}'  wooded  gardens.  Ilcie  a 
group    of    us    fountl    cheerfid    accommodations.       Hut    tiie    tile 


(>-'  rill    oi  n  woKi.i)  i\  ■111!.  m:w  cI'-NTHRY 

lloors  wcio  \cr\'  coKl  to  hare  feet,  ami  the  sheets  upon  the 
bet-ls.  while  not  exaetl\-  w  ringinj^  wet,  were  certainly  not  dry. 
Theie  is  i^uc  comfort  in  damp  sheets,  however;  it  is  a  certifi- 
cate that  the\-  have  been  waslicd,  and  that  is  something.  But 
a  wet  pack  is  hartll\-  w  hat  one  wants  in  seasons  of  ordinary 
health.  1  hail  heard  the  sailors  singing  of  "a  wet  sheet  and 
a  flowing  sea. "  We  had  had  the  flowing  sea,  and  at  night 
we  got  the  wet  sheet.  In  a  land  of  steam  heat,  which  is  one 
of  the  crowning  glories  of  America,  it  makes  one  shiver  to 
remember  how  it  felt  the  first  time  to  go  to  bed  between  wet 
sheets,  antl  to  step  out  upon  a  tile  floor  in  a  room  that  is 
never  heated.  For  the  comfort  of  his  last  hours,  I  hope  that 
the  soldier  of  the  legion  from  Bingen  on  the  Rhine,  who  lay 
dying  in  Algiers,  died  with  his  boots  on. 

The  next  afternoon  the  Celtic  came  under  the  lee  of  the 
breakwater  to  take  us  and  a  boat-load  of  cabbages  on  board, 
and  we  were  taken  out  in  the  steam  tenders  and  embarked 
across  the  cabbage-boat.  It  was  Washington's  birthday,  and 
we  sailed  away  to  the  salute  of  the  guns  of  the  American 
gunboat  Chicago,  which  lay  in  the  harbor,  and  wound  up  the 
day  with  a  patriotic  meeting  that  crowded  the  forward  cabin 
to  suffocation.  There  were  glad  reunions,  for  families  had 
been  separated,  husbands  on  shore  and  wives  on  board,  and 
children  who  had  not  been  seen  for  twenty-four  hours,  and 
who  might  be  either  on  board  or  on  shore.  Happily,  none 
of  us  were  missing,  and  in  spite  of  our  great  anxiety  we  had 
had  a  reasonably  good  time.  But  the  passengers  could  not 
refrain  from  asking,  Why  did  not  the  captain  bring  the  ship 
in  twenty-four  hours  sooner?  To  this  there  was  only  one 
answer,  namely,  that  we  were  landsmen,  and  that  doubtless 
the  captain  had  reasons  which  were  good  ones  for  not  doing 
on  the  first  day  what  he  did  on  the  second.  This  is  the  kind 
of  answer  that  has  always  been  given  when  passengers  ask 
questions  about  the  management  of  a  ship. 

Algiers  is  four  hundred  and  ten  miles  from  Gibraltar,  and 
lies  in  latitude  36°  47'  north,  and  longitude  3°  3'  east.  The 
city  is  built  on  a  range  of  hills  rising  in  amphitheatrical  form 


ALGIERS,  THE    HOME    OF   THE    IM RATES 


63 


around  an  artificial  harbor.  The  buildings  are  principally 
white,  and  it  is  common  to  speak  of  it  as  "a  diamond  inclosed 
in  an  emerald,"  so  beautiful  does  it  appear  in  its  setting  of 
green  hills  and  trees.  Since  1830  it  has  belonged  to  the 
French,  who  occupy  the  best  portions  of  the  city  and  suburbs. 
It  has  a  population  of  91,184. 

Algiers  was   founded   by  the   Arabs   in   935,  and   was   the 
home  of  the  most  rapacious  set  of  pirates  that  ever  scoured  the 


A   STREET   BOLDLY    CARKIEU    LI'   UPON    ARCHES 


Mediterranean.  The  very  stones  of  the  mole  and  breakwater 
could  cry  out  in  echoes  of  the  sobs  and  groans  of  captive 
Christians.  The  kasbah,  or  citatlcl,  above  the  town,  has  at 
its  gate  a  great  chain  from  which,  as  we  were  told,  tlu-  heads 
of  Christians  were  suspended  in  the  bloody  days  of  okl. 

The  Algerian  pirates  of  to-day  drive  cabs.  No  longer  does 
their  victim  walk  the  plank  into  the  angry  ocean;  he  is  more 
profitable  on  shore.  It  is  not  a  simple  matter  to  hire  a  carriage 
in  Algiers.  The  drixn-r  is  alert  for  custom,  but  the  tomist's 
bargain  is  iinpeded  by  the  pn.-si-nce  of  \-ohmt(iT  inlcipreters 
who  pretend  to  underst.md  Pjigjish  bcttiT  than  the  driver, 
who    understands  it    not  at    all.       \'oii    tell    these    interpreters 


64  rill".  01. 1)  woKi.D  IN    1111.  \i:w  (."i-'.xrLiRY 

thai  \"ou  do  not  waiu  llu'in;  you  oinlci  tlu-in  a\\a\'  in  ^"ood 
Ens^lisli  aiul  llu-  worst  l-'rcnch  x'ou  can  rrcill  ;  hut  Ihcy  repeat 
the  ilii\-cr"s  worils  to  ytni  in  the  same  lanL^uai^c  in  which  he 
vitters  it.  and  i)ietcnd  li>  transhite  \'our  words  to  the  ch'iver, 
and  (\o  not  fail  to  demand  a  fee  for  the  trouble  the)'  make 
\-ou.  It  is  bad  enough  to  ha\'e  to  deal  with  the  driver  alone, 
and  worse  to  have  an  alleged  interpreter. 

The  driver,  once  engaged,  is  in  no  hurry.  lie  takes  you 
b\-  w  hat  are  ex'idently  roundabout  wa\-s,  antl  chuckles  to  him- 
self the  while  to  think  you  do  not  know  it.  But  this  is  little 
matter  if  \ou  are  sight-seeing,  for  there  is  something  to  see 
all  along.  I  speak  the  truth  and  lie  not  when  I  declare  that 
m\-  driver  took  me  four  miles  and  back  to  see  a  mosque  a  half- 
mile  away.  And  I  enjoyed  it  as  much  as  he  did,  for  every 
vo(\  of  the  way  there  was  something  pleasant  to  see.  It  is 
rare  for  a  tlriver  to  overheat  his  horses  when  driving  by  the 
hour  in  any  country,  and  the  Algerian  driver  is  an  adept  at 
killing  time.  However,  I  comforted  myself  with  the  assur- 
ance that  there  could  be  no  disputing  about  the  charge,  for 
it  was  agreed  to  in  advance.  To  my  amazement,  the  rascal 
doubled  the  price. 

"But,"  said  I,  "you  said  three  francs  an  hour!" 

"Ah,  ouil  An  hour!  But  not  when  I  mus'  draive  fas'. 
You  keep  shout 'Caoshmann  !  Caoshmann!   Ouray!   Ouray!'" 

It  was  true  that  I  had  hurried  him,  or  tried.  But  I  did 
not  suppose  that  I  had  succeeded.  lUit  as  we  disputed,  a 
crowd  gathered,  and  fell  into  judicial  attitudes.  The  driver 
talked  to  me,  but  with  an  appeal  to  them.  I  was  at  a  disad- 
vantage if  I  expected  to  address  the  jury;  not  even  in  my 
own  tongue  could  I  have  matched  his  eloquence.  But  the 
most  barefaced  trick  was  his  display  of  his  horses'  wet  sides 
in  proof  that  I  had  compelled  him  to  overdrive.  To  the  self- 
appointed  jury  on  the  curbstone  it  wdi?,  prima  facie  evidence, 
and  every  face  showed  that  I  had  lost  my  case.  Every 
mother's  son  of  them  knew  that  it  had  been  raining,  but  the 
ride  cost  me  the  same  as  if  those  horses  had  eaten  their  oats 
in   the  sweat  of  their  brow.      I    do  not    kiunv  how  the   driver 


ALGIERS,  THE    HOME   OF   THE    PIRATES 


65 


collects  his  overcharge  in  dry  weather.  The  rain  must  have 
been  a  blessing  to  many  of  them,  doing  stage  duty  for  honest 
perspiration. 

The  French  quarter  of  Algiers  is  built  with  great  regular- 
ity. A  long  line  of  hotels  and  business  blocks  with  colonnades 
and   cloisters   faces   the  water   front,  and   rises   upon   a  street 


'THE   STREETS   ARE   SERIES   OF   STONE   STAIRS 


boldly  carried  up  upon  arches  and  approached  by  an  incline 
parallel  with  the  street  above.  It  is  a  very  handsome  and 
impressive  structure.  The  I'rench  ([uarter  grows  by  regular 
stages.  Every  year  a  section  of  the  old  part  of  town  is  torn 
down  and  a  new  portion  is  constructeil.  This  gives  the  town 
an  appearance  of  solidity  and  uniformity.  This  ]iortion  is 
clean  and  whf)lesome,  witii  its  rows  of  buildings  clad  in  cream- 
colored  stucco,  and  through  it  to  the  suburbs  lun  American 
trolley  cars.      The)'    run    deliberately,  anil    the    fare,  whirli    !■< 


66  nil.    OLD    \\\)ULI)    IN     lill':    M'.W    ci:\ii  KV 

low,  may  bo  reducocl  by  i^oiii;^-  second-class,  which  is  practi- 
cally as  y^ood  as  first. 

The  Arab  c[uaitcr  is  more  interesting;,  thouL;h  less  inviting. 
There  one  sees  almost  e\ery  type  of  life  which  the  Orient  can 
display,  and  there  he  can  purchase  as  threat  a  variety  of  the 
products  of  the  East  as  anywhere  else  unless  it  be  Cairo  and 
Constantinople.  But  conditions  jostle  one  another  strangely. 
Next  door  to  where  they  are  makiny;  shoes  in  as  primitive  a 
manner  as  was  in  vogue  a  thousand  years  ago,  may  be  heard 
the  whir  of  an  American  sewing-machine.  Even  in  the  Arab 
quarter  of  Algiers  modern  progress  is  forcing  its  way. 

The  Mohammedan  women  of  Algiers  go  heavily  veiled, 
and  wear  a  suit  whose  chief  characteristic  is  a  pair  of  enormous 
white  trousers.  It  was  our  first  sight  of  veiled  women  in 
considerable  numbers,  and  I  looked  for  a  bright  or  happy  or 
coquettish  face  behind  the  veil.  More  of  the  face  is  shown 
here  than  in  Egypt  or  Palestine,  so  opportunity  was  not  lack- 
ing, but  the  habitual  expression  of  an  Eastern  woman's  face  is 
not  one  of  happiness. 

In  the  Mohammedan  quarter,  the  streets  are  often  series 
of  stone  stairs,  rising  flight  after  flight,  with  little  landings 
between.  On  each  side,  in  shops  or  booths,  mere  recesses  in 
the  walls,  goes  on  the  life  of  the  people  in  sight  of  the  street. 
There  people  are  buying  and  selling,  washing  and  ironing, 
eating  and  sleeping,  praying  and  gambling.  They  sit  on  rugs 
or  mats  on  the  floor,  barefoot,  their  shoes  standing  in  rows 
along  the  curb.  From  unexpected  alleys,  dark  and  over- 
arched, emerge  veiled  women,  carrying  on  their  arms  loaves 
of  bread  baked  in  circles,  with  holes  in  the  middle  large  enough 
to  admit  the  arm.  These  loaves  are  often  hung  like  wreaths 
around  the  entrances  of  the  bake-shops.  Thus,  in  their  less 
strenuous  way  of  living,  they  bend  the  very  staff  of  life  into 
a  festoon. 

The  governor's  palace  is  one  of  the  sights  of  Algiers.  It 
is  a  pleasant  but  tawdry  place,  built  around  an  open  court, 
with  a  fine  garden  within.  Close  by  is  the  Cathedral  of  St. 
Philippe,  which  was  built  in   1791.      The  attempt  to  adapt  the 


ALGIERS,  THE    HOME    OF   THE    PIRATES 


67 


architecture  of  the  Moslem  to  Christian  uses  does  not  appear 
very  successful;  still,  the  cathedral  does  not  lack  a  certain 
impressiveness. 

After    this,  we    visited   the  Grand   Mosque,  and   then   the 
New  Mosque.     In  the  courtyard  were  Mohammedans  perform- 


"FROM    UNEXPECTKIJ    ALLEYS    EMERGE    VEILED    WOMEN" 

ing  their  ablutions  preparatory  to  worship,  and  it  was  good, 
honest  washing;  we  wished  there  were  more  of  them  at  it. 
The  mosques  were  commonly  empty  as  we  saw  them,  save 
for  a  very  few  worshipers.  In  tin-  Grand  Moscjue  one  old 
scribe  was  copying  the  Koran  from  a  very  old  copy.  I  tried 
to  buy  a  sheet  that  he  had  copied,  hut  he  touched  his  lips  to 
indicate  that  he  might  not  answer  mc.  anrl  tontinued  at  his 
work.  The  Moslems  as  a  rule  will  not  si'jl  ,1  copy  of  the 
Koran  to   an  "infidel,''  but  ni\-    frientl,  l)v.  .Steele,  succeeded 


6S 


THK    OLD    WOlvl.D    IN     llll'.    Nl'.W    CKNTURY 


ill  buyiiii;'   fur  inc  a   hcautilul   cop)'   from   a   worshiper   in  the 
Mosque    of    Ahmcil    at    C'<instantinoplc,    for  whicli    I    thank 
him   gr.itcfull)-.      1   respcctctl  the  okl  scribe  in  .Algiers   for  his 
devotion   to   his  work,  and    his   proof   against   temptation. 
We  visitetl    another   mosijue,  the   Zaouia   of   Sith'  Abd-er- 


THK    I'EOl'LE    SEEMED    GLAD   TO    SEE    US 


Rahmaneth-Thalebi,  named  for  a  Moslem  saint  whose  tomb 
it  contains.  It  is  full  of  glittering  chandeliers  and  bad  odors, 
and  one  beholds,  through  barred  windows,  the  faithful  at 
worship.  Around  the  central  grave  are  the  tombs  of  other 
high  officials  since  1605.  This  mosque  has  a  sightly  position 
upon  the  slope  of  the  liill  overlooking  the  sea,  but  within  it 
is  not  bright  or  attractive,  and  a  crowd  of  beggars  line  the 
approach. 

There  are  various  entertainments  in  Algiers  for  those  who 


ALGIERS,  THE   HOME   OF   THE    PIRATES 


69 


have  time  to  enjoy  them.  One  may  see  dancers  and  dervishes 
of  various  sorts,  and  attend  variety  performances  of  poor 
grade,  and,  I  am  told,  of  stupid  and  unattractive  immorah'ty. 
There  is  also  the  opera,  which  I  attended.  The  opera  house 
is  dingy,  but  the  music  is  good.      Faust  was  on  when  we  were 


"SOME   CURSED   US   BY   THEIR   GODS 


there,  and  was  well  sung.  It  is  a  little  disconcerting,  how- 
ever, to  see  the  leader  of  the  orchestra  seated  practically  on 
the  level  of  the  stage,  and  swinging  his  baton  as  if  for  the 
chastisement  of  the  actors. 

In  general,  the  people  of  Algiers  seemed  glad  to  see  us, 
but  there  were  some  who  cursed  us  In'  their  irotls.  We  won- 
dered  at  this,  as  we  were  inoffensive.  We  learned  from  a 
competent  interpreter  that  the  words  used  in  these  imi)reca- 
tions  had  reference  to  the  P)()ers.  The  natix'es  did  not  un- 
derstand    that     ICnglisli     and     Aincricaiis     repi-eseiit     two    dif- 


7©  riiK  OLD  WOULD  IN   Till-.  m;w  ckntury 

fcroiit  nations,  and  so  x'isitcd  tlu'  sins  of  the  fathers  upon  the 
chililrcn. 

Spite  of  the  rain,  spite  of  the  aiixiet)-  and  (,hsapj)ointnient, 
we  enjoyed  our  \isit  to  iVlgiers.  If  it  pro\ed  pleasant  to  us 
in  the  downpour  it  must  be  most  enjoyable  on  sunny  days. 
Its  ordinarily  hosjiitable  climate,  its  charminir  surroundings, 
and  the  rich  \-ariety  which  its  streets  afford  of  the  life  of  the 
Mediterranean,  make  it  one  of  the  most  interestiny;  of  all  the 
ports  visited  on  a  voyage  such  as  our  own. 

We  were  not  the  only  pilgrims  in  Algiers.  While  we  were 
there  the  city  was  throngeil  witli  Arabs  on  their  way  to  Mecca, 
They  had  walked  from  many  places  inland,  and  were  to  take 
ship  here  for  the  Arabian  Gulf,  where  again  they  would 
resume  their  journey  on  foot.  Several  vessels  lay  in  the 
harbor  with  temporary  barracks  built  upon  their  decks — we 
could  see  through  the  cracks  as  we  went  by  in  small  boats — 
in  which  these  men  were  to  be  taken,-  a  thousand  in  a  ship. 
Two  or  three  of  them  sailed  while  we  were  in  port.  The 
previous  year  man\'  Arabs  died  on  this  journey.  They  were 
to  provide  their  own  food  both  ways,  and  some  of  them  who 
had  spent  all  they  had  in  getting  to  Mecca  returned  to  the 
ships  starving.  This  year  they  fed  themselves  on  the  out- 
ward journey,  but  the  tickets  provided  for  meals  on  the  return 
trip.  Hard  as  were  the  conditions  of  their  life  on  ship- 
board, it  was  doubtless  better  for  them  there  than  on  shore, 
for  they  were  certain  of  shelter,  such  as  it  was,  and  of  some 
food. 

Every  faithful  Moslem  hopes  once  in  his  life  to  make  the 
journey  to  Mecca,  and  at  the  proper  season.  He  carries  no 
change  of  raiment,  and  if  his  shoes  wear  out,  he  does  not 
replace  them.  Amid  great  hardships  many  of  them  make  the 
pilgrimage.  I  have  been  told  that  the  linen  robes  of  those 
who  die  on  the  way  formerly  constituted  a  large  item  in  the 
manufacture  of  linen  paper. 

These  people  thronged  the  wharf,  and  we  made  our  way 
to  the  boats  through  crowds  of  them.  It  was  strange  and 
wonderfully  interesting  that  our  two  pilgrimages  should  jostle 


ALGIERS,  THE    HOME   OF   THE    PIRATES 


7» 


one   another  on   the   quay.      It   seemed    like  the   meeting  of 
medieval  ages  with  modern  life,  face  to  face. 

An  interesting  thing  occurred  as  we  were  leaving.  It  was 
told  to  these  Moslems  that  we,  too,  were  pilgrims,  and  on 
our  way  to  Jerusalem.  They  also  love  Jerusalem,  and  next 
to  Mecca,  and  perhaps  Medina,  they  would   love  to  go  there. 


AN    ARAB   SCHOOL 


So  it  seemed  to  some  of  them  that  our  journey  and  theirs  had 
something  in  common.  Some,  to  be  sure,  glared  as  if  they 
would  like  to  stab  us,  but  others  looked  at  us  with  kindly 
eyes.  When  we  were  embarking  our  last  boat-load  of  passen- 
gers, a  number  of  these  Moslem  pilgrims  hired  a  boat  and 
rowed  out  to  the  Celtic.  They  were  not  good  sailors,  and 
the  sea  was  rough.  lint  their  errand  was  unmistakably  a 
kindly  one.  One  by  one  they  rose,  or  tried  to  rise,  in  the 
rocking  boat,  and  they  shouted  to  us  messages  whose  sound 
we  could  li.udly  liear,  and  whose  words  were  wholly  unknown 


-2  TllK    oi.n    WOKl.D    IN    Till-:    Ni:W    CENTURY 

to  us.  Hut  the  toiu's  .uul  i;csturcs  woif  uiuiucstioiiabl)- 
friemll)-.  Some  \\ovi.\  oi  hail  and  tarcwrll  they  brout^ht  us, 
as  pil|;Tinis  io  a  shrine  hclox-ctl  b}-  them  ami  us.  There  was 
little  we  couKl  ilo  to  return  their  salutation.  \Vc  were  almost 
ti>o  bus)-  with  our  reunions  and  rojoicinq;s  to  notice  them  at 
all,  but  those  of  us  who  saw  and  heard  them,  waved  the 
American  flag  at  them,  antl  in  our  hearts  batle  them  a  Chris- 
tian farewell. 


CHAPTER  V 

MALTA,  WHERE    KNIGHTHOOD    WAS    IN    FLOWER 

The  traveler  in  America  goes  from  place  to  place  in  con- 
stant expectation  of  superlatives  in  size.  He  is  so  constantly 
shown  the  largest  thing  of  its  kind  in  existence  that  he  is 
liable  to  lose  interest  in  anything  of  less  than  surpassing  bulk. 
It  must  be  a  chief  lesson  of  a  visit  to  the  Orient  to  discover 
historical,  commercial  and  esthetic  vakics  in  relatively  small 
countries  and  things. 

Malta  is  so  small  an  island  that  it  appears  only  as  a  dot  in 
maps  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  few  of  the  popular  atlases 
and  encyclopedias  contain  a  separate  map  of  it.  Small  as  it 
is,  it  is  the  largest  of  the  three  islands  composing  the  Maltese 
group,  being  seventeen  and  one-quarter  miles  long,  and  nine 
and  one-quarter  miles  in  width.  It  contains  about  ninety- 
five  square  miles,  which  is  nearly  five  times  the  area  of  the 
next  largest  island,  Gozo.  l^etwecn  these  two  lies  Comino, 
where  there  is  a  fort  built  in  \f>\^,  and  a  little  village  of  peas- 
ants' huts,  where  they  raise  excellent  watermelons.  The 
chief  interest  which  attaches  to  Gozo  is  that  it  is  identified 
with  the  famous  isle  of  Calypso,  where  Ulysses  sojournL-d  on 
his  eventful  voyage,  and  where  the  siren  tried  to  weave  her 
web  about  his  heart,  while  at  home  the  faithful  wife,  Tcnel- 
ope,  weaved  all  day  and  raveled  at  night  tlu'  L;aiinent  whose 
completion  would  liavi-  hound  lu-r  lifr  to  one  of  Iut  numerous 
suitors.  Interesting  as  (iozo  might  be  because  of  the  classical 
tale  of  llonier,  it  is  insignificant  as  compared  with  Malta. 

In  approaching  the  island  from  tin;  west,  tin-  tourist  sails 
directly  past  the  traditional  scene  of  St.  Taul's '^llip\\  icck.  It 
is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  conforni.it  ii  m  of  the  laud  about 
St.  I'aul's  Hay  is  such  as  {o  confirm  llic  uncoiitradicled  tradi- 
tion concerning  the  place  of    the  shi])wreck.      The  bay  shows 

73 


74  THK    (Ml)    WOl'll.n    IN     IIIK    NKW   CENTURY 

ilistiiictly  (vom  tlu-  deck  of  the  shii).  witli  a  i;rcat  statue  of 
St.  Paul  in  sii^ht  on  a  little  island.  if  there  were  no  other 
reason  for  x'isitiuL;  the  ishuul,  this,  to  a  Hil)le  stutlent,  would 
be  of  itself  sufficient.  lleie,  to  an  Oriental  tDurist  from  the 
new  worKl.  Bible  study  begins.  Ilere,  for  the  first  time,  we 
are  on  soil  that  has  specific  mention  in  apostolic  history.  It 
was  in  the  w  inter  of  the  year  62  that  the  great  apostle  was 
shipwreckeil  here  while  on  his  way  to  Rome,  a  prisoner  in  a 
grain  ship.  It  is  a  superb  and  magnificently  truthful  story 
which  Luke  gives  us  in  the  Acts  of  the  way  one  self-possessed 
man  in  the  ship,  though  a  prisoner,  preserved  the  courage  of 
the  crew  and  prisoners,  ami  brought  all  safe  ashore.  It  is 
not  the  only  time  such  things  have  happened,  but  faith  and 
fortitude  never  had  a  finer  demonstration  of  their  value  in  a 
great  emergency,  and  their  ability  to  raise  th.eir  possessor  in 
dignity  aiul  power  to  his  proper  level  among  men.  Paul,  on 
that  bleak  February  morning,  struggled  through  the  surf  to 
the  rugged  coast  of  Malta,  a  prisoner.  But  before  they  left  the 
island  the  governor  knev/,  what  those  on  board  the  ship  had 
already  learned,  the  courage  and  ability  of  the  Christian  hero. 
The  simple  account  of  this  event  is  contained  in  the  twenty- 
seventh  chapter  of  Acts.  The  traditional  date  of  the  ship- 
wreck, as  celebrated  on  the  island,  is  February  loth.  On  this 
date,  in  the  year  16 lO,  a  square  stone  tower  was  erected  which 
is  still  standing.  Near  it  is  a  chapel  with  crude  old  paintings 
illustrating  the  shipwreck,  and  the  fishing  village  is  near  at 
hand,  as  it  was  at  the  time  of  the  shipwreck. 

The  present  capital  of  Malta  is  Valetta,  built  on  a  rocky 
promontory  on  the  northern  side  of  the  island,  looking  toward 
the  east.  It  has  a  double-mouthed  harbor,  amazingly  forti- 
fied. Not  until  one  estimates  the  strength  of  the  fortifica- 
tions of  Valetta  docs  he  realize  the  military  importance  of 
Malta.  A  small  island  with  a  few  trees  and  not  much  soil, 
with  mild  temperature  in  winter  and  excessive  heat  in  sum- 
mer, containing  less  than  a  luindred  square  miles  of  barely 
arable  soil,  could  not  have  proved  its  importance  in  history 
from  its  own  protluctiveness.      It  is  because  Malta  is  so  nearly 


MALTA,  WHERE  KNIGHTHOOD  WAS  IX  FLOWER 


75 


the  key  of  the  eastern  end  of  the  Mediterranean,  so  easily 
stands  guard  over  the  coasts  of  southern  Europe  and  northern 
Africa  and  the  Suez  Canal,  that  these  massive  fortifications 
rise  tier  upon  tier  upon  either  side  of  the  double-mouthed 
harbor.  The  city  itself  is,  in  size  and  beauty,  out  of  all  pro- 
potion  to  the  size  of  the  island.  It  is  regularly  built,  and 
Lord  Beaconsfield  spoke  of  it  as  equal  in  its  architecture  to 
any  capital    in  Europe.      It   is  named   after  its   founder,  John 


WHKKK    I'AIL    SUFFERED   SHIPWRECK 


La  Valctte,  grand  master  of  the  Knights  of  St.  John,  at  the 
time  of  the  last  and  most  desperate  siege  by  the  Turks  in 
1565.  The  prevailing  style  of  architecture  is  a  combiiiatinn 
of  the  Moorish  and  tlie  Italian. 

The  people,  while  of  mixed  blood,  are  principally  of  Arabian 
stock,  and  their  language  is  largely  Arabian.  The  Italian  has 
been  until  recently  the  language  in  the  courts.  Now  the 
English  is  the  official  language.  Though  .\rabian  and  .Moor- 
ish influences  prevail,  the  people  are  not  Mohammedans  but 
Roman  Catholics.  The  Protestant  religion  has  scant  recogni- 
tion, especially  when  it  is  considered  that  the  island  belongs 
to  the  English. 


7(1  inK  oi.n  WOK  1.1)  in    riii-.  new  century 

riu'  ancient  capital  was  Citta  W-ccliia,  situati'd  five  or  six 
miles  inland.  it  is  a  nioUlciin^  old  cit\',  built  upon  a  jjronii- 
ncnt  rid^c,  anil  stands  out  distinctlx'  ai^ainst  the  sky.  A 
statue  of  luno  greets  the  ])ilL;rini  .it  the  main  gate.  Citta 
X'ecchia  means  simjily  old  city,  so  called  to  distinguish  it  from 
X'aletta.  It  was  founded  about  /OO  B.  C,  and  is  referred  to 
by  Cicero.  Its  former  name  under  Moslem  rule  was  Medina. 
It  is  said  b}-  some  to  date  as  far  back  as  1804  B.  C.  It  is 
connected  with  X'aletta  by  a  narrow-gauge  railway,  the  only 
one  on  the  island.  The  ancient  cathedral,  in  the  form  of  a  Latin 
cross,  nearly  two  hundred  feet  long  and  about  half  as  wide,  is 
very  richly  decorated,  and  is  said  to  occupy  the  site  of  the 
h(^use  of  Publius,  the  Roman  governor  of  the  island  at  the 
time  of  the  shipwreck  of  Paul.  It  contains  several  alleged 
relics  of  the  apostle,  together  with  a  picture  of  the  Madonna 
said  to  have  been  painted  by  Luke. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  the  vicinity  is  the 
extensive  system  of  catacombs  dating  back  to  the  time  of 
Roman  sovereignty,  supposed  to  have  served  as  hiding-places 
for  the  early  Christians.  I  explored  them  and  found  them 
as  interesting,  though  not  as  extensive,  as  those  at  Rome. 
Near  the  entrance  to  the  Catacombs  is  the  Grotto  of  St.  Paul, 
where  the  apostle  is  supposed  to  have  lived  during  his  three 
months'  sojourn  on  the  island.  Here  stands  a  chapel  dedicated 
to  St.  Paul,  and  containing  a  statue  of  him,  said  to  exercise 
marvelous  healing  powers.  It  is  inevitable  that  superstitions 
and  legends  such  as  these  should  have  grown  up  around  so 
interesting  an  event,  and  we  may  well  take  them,  one  and  all, 
with  a  grain  of  salt,  excepting  the  well-attested  fact  which 
the  inquiries  of  scholars  have  tended  all  the  more  strongly  to 
confirm — the  actual  shipwreck  and  three  months'  residence 
of  the  apostle  on  this  island.  As  the  story  recorded  by  Luke 
indicates  Paul's  personal  relations  with  Publius,  the  governor, 
it  is  very  much  more  than  likely  that  Paul  lived  that  winter 
in  Citta  Vecchia.  Beyond  this  we  cannot  exi)ect  to  find  his- 
torical certainty,  nor  need  we  seek  it  in  the  credulous  tradi- 
tions of  the  people. 


MALTA,  WHERE  KNIGHTHOOD  WAS  IN  FLOWER 


77 


It  is  said  that  traditions  are  not  the  only  spurious  things 
vended  on  the  ishmd.  but  tliat  many  of  the  alleged  antiques 
are  made  in  the  potteries  of  England  and  imported  for  the 
purpose,  and  offered  for  sale  with  well-told  stories  of  their 
genuineness;  also  that  any  article  offered  to  a  tourist  is  likely 
to  bear  double  the  price  which  the  vender  expects  to  receive. 

That  which  gives  Malta  its  special  place  in  history  is  the 
residence  here  of  the  Knights  of  St.   John.      This  order  had 


THK    HAKHOK    t)K    VALETTA 


its  beginnings  in  Jerusalem  in  1033,  when  certain  merchants 
of  Amalfi  obtained  from  the  caliph  of  Ivg>'pt  authority  to 
establish  a  h()S])ital  in  JenisaK-ni  foiMhe  poor  and  sick  ])ilgrims 
from  the  Latin  fjuarters,  making  their  way  to  visit  the  IIol\- 
Sepulcher.  T'or  ninety  years  the  little  organization  main- 
tained itself  and  grew,  ami  then  received  pa])al  sanction  in 
the  bull  issued  1)\'  i'asml  11,  in  1113.  .\lread\-  the  organi- 
zation was  a  power.  Man\'  worth)-  pilgrims  made  offerings 
in  money,  and  others,  full  of  religious  devotion,  iriuaini-d  in 
Jerusalem  and  gave  themselves  to  the  work-  of  the  hospitalers; 
but  meantime  the  Crusaders  had  so  f,ir  pros])ered  that  (God- 
frey I)e  ]V)ullion    had  capturrd    JerusaU'in  in    I  109,  and  many 


7^^ 


riii'.  (M  11  woKi  D  IN    rill':  new  CK^"^^R^■ 


Christian  warriors  ioiiu'd  the  ranks  of  tlu'  hospitalers.  h^'oni 
tills  tini--^  on  a  lUtniitc  oii^ani/.ation  w.is  established,  and  each 
ai")]iro\'e(,l  candidate  iov  membership  was  clotlu-d  in  a  black 
robe  bearing;  on  the  breast  an  eight-pointed  white  cross,  and 
therewith  bound  himself  to  poverty,  chastit)-  antl  obedience. 
I'ive   years    later   another   vow  was    added,  when    Raymond 


TOMMY    ATKINS   AT    MALTA 
Photograjih  by  Mrs.  F.  B.  Newell 


Dupuy   became  commander,  and   the  monks  became  knit^hts 
in  their  oath  to  be  militant  defenders  of  the  cross  of  Christ. 

In  time  they  were  driven  from  Jerusalem  to  Acre,  and 
from  Acre,  after  desperate  fighting,  they  retired  to  Cyprus, 
in  1 29 1.  There  they  became  a  sea  power  in  constant  conflict 
with  the  Moslem  corsairs.  In  13 10  they  captured  Rhodes, 
from  which  they  were  driven  in  1503.  In  1530  Charles  V 
of  France  ceded   to   the   now   homeless   knights  the   island  of 


MALTA,  WHERE  KNIGHTHOOD  WAS  IX  FLOWER 


79 


Malta  and  the  fortress  of  Tripoli  in  Africa.  The  gift  of  the 
latter  was  after  the  fashion  of  the  man  who  owned  much  land^ 
in  Kansas,  and  finding  at  length  a  purchaser,  slipped  two  or 
three  extra  quarter-sections  in  the  deed  without  the  knowledge 


"IT  SEEMS    HK\VIT(  HINfJLY    UNBALANCED" 

of  the  buyer,  and  congratulated  liimsrlf  on  the  slirewdness  of 
the  (leal;  for  Charles  V  made  a  virtue  of  a  necessity  in  giving 
to  the  knights  what  he  himself  could  not  hold.  The  knights 
would  gladly  have  had  Malta  without  Tiipoli,  but  llie\-  were 
compelled  to  take  both  or  none,  and  they  took  botii.  Here 
in  Malta  the  knights  established  themselves  in  1530.      Tri])oli 


^o  rill-  (Mit  woki.D  IX    rill".  m;w  century 

prox'ccl  untcnahlc.  .uul  w.is  surrL-iulorcd  to  the  Turl-;s  in  1551. 
but  Malta  itsclt"  was  hcUl  witli  the  ni^st  briUiaiU  and  amazing 
coiirai^c.  h'roni  1537  t^  his  death,  in  1  5()S,  John  La  Valette 
was  gr.md  master,  and  to  liis  sagacit)-  and  energy  the  con- 
struction of  the  fortifications  on  tlie  promontory  where  now 
the  city  stands  was  due.  h^'om  Ma}-  iS  to  September  8, 
1565,  the  Turkish  tleet,  under  the  noted  corsair,  Dragut,  hiid 
siege  to  the  harbor  anil  its  forts.  Valette,  then  more  than 
seventy  years  of  age,  defended  the  island  with  the  most  bril- 
liant courage,  and  his  little  handfvd  of  knights  drove  back  the 
savage   Turks  with  losses  aggregating  twenty-five  thousand. 

In  179S  Malta  was  surrendered  to  Napoleon,  and  on  the 
fall  of  that  ill-fated  general,  passed  into  the  hands  of  England, 
where  it  remains  to  this  day. 

One  may  see  many  brilliant  costumes  in  Malta  on  soldier 
and  peasant,  but  the  one  characteristic  article  of  feminine 
apparel  is  the  faldetta.  I  think  tliat  I  can  describe  it  so  that 
the  reader  will  know  what  it  looks  like.  It  is  a  bonnet,  made 
like  a  cape,  and  would  be  a  square  or  oblong  piece  of  black 
silk  a  yard  or  so  in  width,  but  that  one  side  is  gathered  into 
a  little  half-moon  and  wired,  and  the  wire  passed  in  a  long 
curve  down  the  selvage  of  the  right  side  beyond.  This  little 
semicircle  is  not  worn  on  top  of  the  head,  as  a  mere  man 
might  suppose  would  be  the  case,  but  over  the  left  ear,  and 
the  long  curve  bends  over  the  face  like  a  Shaker  bonnet,  but 
more  loosely.  On  the  right  the  cape  falls  to  the  elbow,  and 
still  lower  on  the  left,  and  the  whole  thing  seems  dreadfully 
and  bewitchingly  unbalanced.  The  attention  required  to  keep 
it  in  place  justifies  no  end  of  coquettish  preening  in  public. 
I  am  sure  that  among  the  various  articles  of  feminine  adorn- 
ment none  more  "fetching"  than  the  faldetta  was  ever 
invented  by  Cupid. 

We  came  to  Malta  full  of  hope  and  expectancy,  and  pre- 
pared for  a  joyous  experience  to  place  against  the  background 
of  our  anxiety  at  Algiers.  We  were  late  in  ani\ing,  and  the 
single  day  was  all  too  short  for  what  we  wanted  to  accomplish, 
but  it  was  after  noon  before  we  got  off.      Other  people  rcmem- 


MALTA,  WHERE  KNIGHTHOOD  WAS  IX  FLOWER 


81 


ber  Malta  as  the  meeting-place  of  Saracen  and  Christian  in 
deadly  battle,  but  we  remember  it  as  the  place  of  the  indig- 
nation meeting  against  the  captain. 

The   day   was   fine,   but   a   heavy   swell   was   running,    and 
breaking    hard    against    the    shore.      We    hardly   realized    the 


VALETTA    AS   SEEN    1-K().\1    OIK    sllir 


swell,  however,  till  we  saw  how  the  ])ilot-boat  was  tossed  that 
came  out  to  bring  us  in.  'I'he  liaiI)Mi-  master  was  aboard.  ,iiid 
had  reserved  for  himself  the  task  of  bringing  the  Celtic  inside, 
lie  was  met  on  the  gangway  by  one  of  the  officers,  who  told 
him  that  the  captain  tlid  not  intend  to  cnicr  the  harbor.  The 
harbor  master  then  refused  to  come  on  board  or  lo  clear  the 
ship  for   departure.      After  long   argument  he   agreed  to  clcai- 


82  -riir  (MP  woKi.i)  IN    iiU',  m:\v  century 

the  ship,  but  rcfusi\l  to  conu-  on  board,  and  rrtiirncd  on 
shore,  saN'iui;  unkind  tliiiii;s  about  the  captain,  as  \\c  were 
later  informed.  Two  small  ste.imers  came  out  to  take  oil  the 
passen_<;"ers.  but  fnulinL;  the  swell  danj^erous,  refused  to  come 
near  the  ship  unless  she  w  ould  come  inside.  Hut  the  cajitain, 
ah'eadv  too  far  out  to  anchor,  put  out  a  considerable  distance 
farther.  After  Ioul;'  delay  we  were  taken  in  small  boats  to 
the  steam-tenders,  and  those  who  tlarcd  make  the  journey 
were  conve}'ed  on  shore.  The  boats  were  tossed  by  the  swell, 
and  we  landed  amid  considerable  excitement. 

On  shore  we  learned  that  the  admiralt\-  had  moved  two 
war-ships  to  make  room  for  the  Celtic,  and  that  amouL^  the 
thirteen  <;reat  war  vessels  then  lyin^-  at  anchor  in  the  harbor, 
at  least  one  drew  more  water  than  the  Celtic.  The  swell  was 
even  higher  when  we  returned.  The  process  of  embarking 
proved  ver\-  slow  and  hazardous;  the  bcxitrnen  played  upon 
the  fears  of  the  pas.sengers  and  extorted  fees  even  to  the  neg- 
lect (^f  their  duty;  and  one  boat  was  overturned,  and  six 
passengers  narrowly  escaped  drowning.  When  the  passengers 
got  on  board  a  large  proportion  of  them  wxre  angry.  They 
hotly  resented  the  implication  that  they  were  incapable  of 
knowing  whether  they  had  ground  of  comjilaint,  and  passed 
about  a  letter  from  the  American  consul  quoting  13ritish  naval 
officers  to  the  effect  that  the  captain  had  been  needlessly 
prudent  for  his  ship  in  refusing  to  enter  the  harbor.  Some 
passengers  uttered  harsh  words  against  the  captain,  and  a  few 
stoutly  defended  him,  saying  that  he  knew  his  own  business 
better  than  the  passengers  did.  But  the  tourists  in  general 
felt  that  the  captain  had  saved  his  ship  from  a  theoretical 
danger  at  the  cost  of  actual  peril  to  his  passengers,  and  while 
disposed  to  commend  his  prudence,  felt  that  he  luul  carried 
it  too  far,  both  at  Algiers  and  Malta.  However,  the  meeting 
adjourned  subject  to  call,  and  fortunately  no  further  occasion 
was  found  for  the  meeting  to  act.  But  the  memory  of  it, 
wdiich  has  long  since  lost  its  bitterness  in  the  minds  of  most 
of  the  tourists,  helps  to  give  variety  to  the  impressions  of  the 
voyage. 


MALTA,  WHERE  KNIGHTHOOD  WAS  IX  FLOW^ER 


«3 


Not  every  one  got  ashore  at  Malta,  but  those  who  did  so 
enjoyed  it  as  few  other  i)laces.  The  cathedral,  the  historic 
Churcli  of  St.  John,  and  the  tombs  of  the  grand  masters,  are 
all    eloquent    of    a    past    replete    with   brave   deeds;    and    the 


THE   CHANEL   OF   HONES 


narrow  streets  and  seductive  shops  divide  the  tourist's  inter- 
est. There  is  also  a  Capuchin  church,  quite  as  interesting  as 
that  in  Rome,  where  the  bones  of  the  dead  monks  arc  arranged 
with  gruesome  art.  }]c  who  goes  to  Malta  should  buy  some 
lace;  he  will  find  no  trouble  in  ])resenting  it  to  his  lady 
friends.  It  is  of  silk,  hand  woven,  justly  famous,  and  always 
desirable.      Very   pretty   silver    filigree   work,   too,   is   obtain- 


Si  rilK    OLD    WOKl.I)    IN     llll".    Ni:W    CKN'ri'RY 

able,  .uul  the  prices  jiaid.  beini:^  about  half  of  those  asked,  are 
fairl\-  reasonable.  There  are  other  st)u\enirs  ol  interest. 
Let  me  sa\-  here,  contrary  to  the  ad\ice  of  more  experienced 
tourists  who  counsel  ai;ainst  buyiuL;  many  souvenirs,  if  I  were 
^oint;-  ai^^ain  I  shoukl  buy  more  rather  than  less,  and  would 
tr\-  to  buy  articles  characteristic  of  the  places  visited,  and  of 
permanent  worth. 

Those  who  were  able  to  drive  across  to  St.  Paul's  Bay 
found  the  dri\e  delig-htful,  and  the  view  oT  the  bay  inspiring; 
while  those  who  took  the  narrow-gauge  road  to  Citta  Vecchia, 
riding  out  under  the  embankments  into  the  o])en  fields,  and 
so  to  the  Catacombs  and  ancient  memorials,  cherish  a  most 
delightful  memory  of  an  afternoon  packed  full  of  interest,  the 
onlv  defect  of  which  was  that  it  did  not  last  longer. 


CHAPTER  VI 

ATHENS,  AND    OUR    HAPPY    VISIT    TO    GREECE 

We  approached  Athens  reflecting  sadly  that  we  were  to 
behold,  "Greece,  but  living  Greece  no  more,"  We  left  it 
with  the  conviction  that  Greece  is  very  much  alive.  From 
the  time  when  the  fleet  of  little  boats  sailed  out  on  the  Bay 
of  Phaleron  to  convey  us  ashore  at  Piraeus  till  we  embarked 
/  from  a  pier  black  with  an  assembled  multitude  that  gathered 
to  see  us  off,  we  reveled  not  only  in  the  memories  but  in 
the  present  life  of  Greece.  We  visited  the  Museum  and 
the  ruins,  but  we  found  objects  of  equal  interest  in  fine 
business  blocks,  in  new  school  buildings,  worthy  in  their  archi- 
tecture even  of  Athens,  in  the  new  stadium,  still  in  process 
of  erection,  though  once  already  it  has  witnessed  the  renewed 
Olympian  games,  and  in  the  people,  who  appeared  to  us  alert 
and  full  of  hope.  On  the  Pnyx,  the  forum  of  Demosthenes, 
I  met  a  school  in  charge  of  its  master.  The  boys  were  study- 
ing Grecian  history  on  the  s[)ot.  I  examined  their  books,  and 
found  the  familiar  works  of  Xenophon  and  Homer,  showing 
very  much  such  use  and  neglect,  and  such  artistic  ornamenta- 
tion on  the  fly-leaves,  as  ma}-  he  found  in  America.  The\'  also 
had  with  them  their  work  in  geography,  and  were  just  then 
studying  about  the  United  States,  .md  were  interested  to 
know  that  I  was  from  there.  I  made  them  understand  that 
we  in  America  shared  their  love  for  the  masters  of  Greek 
literature,  and  they  were  able  to  make  nic  know  that  they 
enjoyed  learning  about  y\merica.  When  our  conversa- 
tion ended — and  it  was  satisfactory,  thougli  tlu'ii- total  Icnowl- 
edge  of  Mnglish  about  equaled  ni\-  none  too  \ast  recollec- 
tion of  even  ancient  Greek — I  took  from  ni\-  pocket  an 
American  flag,  and  waved  it  fmn)  the  top  of  the  I'nyx,  and 
the  school,  led    by  the   master,  eiieered    heartil}-  for   the   stars 

»5 


86 


VHV.  t)i.n  woKi.n  in    iiii':  new  century 


and  stripes.      Such  litlk-   incicU'iits   made   us   feel   at    home   in 
Cjieeco. 

The  Ameriean  sehool,  t(>(\  i;'a\e  us  a  strong'  home  feehnt;". 
This  is  the  school  supported  !))•  our  American  coilci^es,  to 
which  each  of  them  in  turn  sentls  its  i)rofessor  of  Greek  for 
a  )ear  of  rest  ami  study.  The  students  are  mostly  post- 
£Traduates  from  our  colleijjes,  who  are  here  to  stud}'  archeology 
ami    do  a  little  metaphorical    iligging  in    the  ruins,  at   least  if 


THE    WHARF    AT   THE    PIRAEUS 


that  may  be  called  metaphorical  which  is  done  by  workmen 
while  the  students  themselves  look  on.  I  fancy  that  the  young 
men  do  their  actual  disjging  in  the  sounds  and  accents  of  mod- 
ern  Greek  if  they  learn  it  at  all ;  for  so  far  as  I  could  judge,  the 
modern  tongue  is  a  perverse  and  badly  corrupted  survival.  How- 
ever that  may  be,  the  American  school  itself  is  the  center  of 
American  life  in  Greece.  Here  any  American  may  come  not 
only  for  the  sight  of  home  faces,  but  for  help  in  studN-ing  the 
ruins.  Professor  Rufus  1).  Richardson,  the  director,  gave  us 
an  inspiring  lecture  on  the  Acropolis,  and  enabled  us  to  get  our 
bearings  as  we  began  to  see  the  city.  Later  many  of  us  visited 
the  school,  and  were  most  courteously  entertained. 


ATHENS,  AND    OUR    HAPPY    VISIT   TO    GREECE 


«7 


We  had  seen  a  good  deal  of  Athens  ah-eady.  The  city 
lay  in  \-iew  from  the  ship,  its  chief  points  plainly  visible 
through  a  good  glass,  though  we  were  anchored  some  miles 
out  at  sea,  and  the  city  is  fi\-e  miles  inland  from  its  ancient 
and  modern  harbor,  Piraeus.  We  recognized  the  Acropolis 
at  once,  with  the  Parthenon  caged  in  with  staging  erected  for 
its  repair.  Behind  rose  Hymettus,  Parnes,  and  Pentelicus, 
of  which  we  had  read  all  our  lives.      We  were  anchored  in  the 


THE    FORUM    OF   DEMOSTHENES 


waters  of  Phaleron,  and  to  our  left  lay  Salamis,  where  the 
Persians  met  their  defeat.  We  were  soon  in  boats  antl  sailing 
the  .^gean.  Then  we  crowded  into  special  trains — we  had 
the  privilege  of  going  by  trolley  or  in  carriages  if  we  chose — 
and  moved  with  reasonable  rapidity  to  Athens. 

Close  by  the  railwa\'  station  where  we  left  the  tiain  stands 
the  temple  of  Theseus,  the  best  preserved  o{  all  the  ancient 
Athenian  temples.  We  felt  at  home  as  soon  as  we  saw  it; 
for  jiictures  of  it  are  as  familiar  to  every  .\merican  bo\'  as  are 
those  of  the  capitol  at  \\\Tshington.  Hut  we  ucie  the  richer 
by  far  for  the  sight  of  it.  since  no  pictures  gi\-o  the  soft 
golden    brcjwn    coloring  whicii    makes  it  a  tielight    to  the    e)e. 


88  riir  o\.\)  woki.d  in  tiii-.  ni:\v  century 

A  somewhat  L^dnulous  i;uiclc  i)racticccl  l'jiL;lish  on  us  here, 
and  wc  oscajicd  up  the  liill  toward  the  Acro])olis,  where  we 
sat  about  ou  fallen  coluuius  and  listened  to  Professor 
RichardsiMi. 

We  were  courteously  but  earefull)-  watchetl  to  prex'ent  our 
carrxin;^  ofT  souvenirs.  Since  Lord  I'di;in  robbed  the  Acropolis 
for  the   benefit  of   the  liritish    Museum,  the   Greeks,  Avho  say 


THE   TEMPLE   OF  THESEUS 

no  masses  for  the  repose  of  Lord  Elgin's  soul,  look  out  for 
tourists  with  relie-huntino-  propensities,  and  there  were  enough 
of  us  to  have  carried  the  Parthenon  off  bodily.  The  guards, 
however,  did  not  find  their  duties  burdensome,  and  some 
young  soldiers  posed  picturesquely  for  the  photographers  of 
the  crowd.  Some  of  our  girls  spoke  of  carrying  ofT  a  guard 
as  a  souvenir,  and  the  young  soldiers  seemed  nothing  loath. 
One  young  lady,  seeing  a  camera  pointed  toward  a  nice-looking 
young  soldier,  who  was  posing  in  front  of  a  column  of  the 
Parthenon,    ran    up    and    stood    bcsiile   him,    to   their    mutual 


ATHENS,  AND   OUR    HAPPY   A'lSIT   TO   GREECE 


89 


satisfaction,  and  the  envy  of  the  more  timid  girls.  She  was 
a  bright  girl,  and  he  looked  well  in  his  ballet  skirts,  and  with 
brushes  on  the  tips  of  his  shoes,  as  though  he  would  polish 
them  one  against  the  other. 

The  Acropolis,  the  "height  of 
the  city,"  was  used  in  the  early 
war-times  of  Athens  as  a  citadel 
of  defense  and  refuge.  Later  the 
temples  were  erected  upon  it,  but 
the  possibility  that  the  strength 
of  the  place  might  be  needed  in 
time  of  war  was  always  kept  in 
mind.  The  massiveness  of  the 
Propylaea  and  of  the  retaining 
walls,  where  the  rock  is  not  suffi- 
ciently sheer,  show  the  influence  of 
this  idea.  The  Propyla^a,  or  por- 
tal, is  in  itself  a  noble  structure. 
The  name  means  "before  the 
gate,"  and  the  gate  itself  is  with- 
in and  above;  but  the  Propylsea 
is  the  true  gate.  On  the  right  as 
one  enters  is  the  temple  of  Athena 
Nike,  or  Wingless  Victor}-,  an 
architectural  gem,  onl\-  eighteen 
by  twenty-seven  feet,  witli  four 
columns  at  eitlicr  end  tliirtcen 
and   one-half  feet    high.      Passing 

through  the  Proi)yla  a,  and  ascending  the  roadway  cut  out  of 
the  rock,  one  sees  to  the  left  of  the  Paitlicnon  the  l'"rechtheum 
with  its  exquisite  portico  of  tlic  maiiK-ns.  Tiicse  statues, 
which  are  caryatids,  are  the  only  iiiaihlcs  K-fl  intact  on  tlie 
Acropolis.  Even  of  these,  our  is  in  terra-colta,  t(^  su])pl\- 
the  place  of  the  one  wrenched  from  its  place  b)'  Lord  Llgin. 
The  Parthenon  is  recognized  as  the  most  i)erfect  monument 
of  ancient  art.  Even  in  its  ruins  it  insjiires  tiietleepest  a(hni- 
ration.      It    crowns   the   Acropolis,    and    staiuls    five    hundred 


THK    KNVV    OK   TlIK    MORE 
TIMID    (ilKLS" 


go  I'lU",    (HA)    WOULD    IN     llll".    NKW    CKNTim 

feet  abm-e  the  sea.  aniouL;'  ruins  of  otlier  and  (Mil)-  less  famous 
buildiiiL;s.  It  is  built  of  I'entelic  niai"i)le.  ami  the  architects 
were  Phidias  .nul  Ictinus;  hut  IViicles,  who  procured  the 
ni(Mie\-  and  encoura;^etl  the  erection  of  the  buildini;,  is  counted 
the  real  buikler.  It  r.iises  cone's  ris^'hteous  wrath  to  know  that 
this  building;-  came  down  almost  to  our  own  time  in  compara- 
ti\elv  i^ootl  repair,  and  was  wrecked  b\-  a  bomb  fired  by  the 
X'enetians,  in  1687.  The  Turks,  who  hekl  the  Acropolis,  hatl 
stored  their  powder  in  the  Parthenon,  and  its  explosion  laid 
in  ruins  the  iinxst  beautiful  structure  that  we  have  inherited 
from  the  ancient  workl. 

These  buildings  of  Pentelic  marble  are  not  white,  but  a 
rich  light  brown,  more  restful  to  the  eye,  as  time  has  stained 
and  softened  the  glistening  whiteness  of  former  davs.  How- 
ever  glorious  the  Acropolis  must  have  been  in  the  days  when 
she  bore  her  crown  in  unspotted  white,  it  is  a  blessing  that  time 
has  chastened  tlie  luster  of  the  ruins.  Were  these  in  white, 
the  Acropolis  would  seem  a  veritable  cemetery,  with  its  noble 
buildings  standing  in  their  own  nude  skeletons  as  tombstones 
above  the  graves  of  their  dead  glory;  as  it  is,  they  are  the 
faded  and  unobtrusive,  but  still  magnificent,  survivals  of  their 
former  selves,  standing  neither  in  the  proud  arrogance  of  their 
pristine  white  nor  yet  in  the  hopeless  black  of  abased  desola- 
tion, but  in  the  soft  and  mellow  brown  of  cheerful  but  sub- 
dued reminiscence. 

With  these  mellow  tones  of  color,  the  landscape  harmon- 
ized. There  were  no  high  lights.  There  was  a  gentle  alterna- 
tion of  sun  and  shade  that  culminated  in  rain,  followed  by  a 
clearing  into  fresh  air  and  calm,  but  not  brilliant  skies.  The 
blue  of  the  sky  was  pale,  and  the  colors  of  the  hills  were  not 
dull,  nor  were  they  over-bright.  There  was  a  dreamy,  remi- 
niscent haze  that  lay  over  the  soul  of  things,  yet  gave  fitful 
glimpses  of  the  far-away  that  seemed  farther.  On  one  side 
the  Acropolis  lay  the  city,  its  activities  giving  to  us  only  the 
harmonized  hum  of  their  variant  noises;  on  the  other  side 
the  shepherds  kept  their  sheep.  A  squad  of  soldiers  came 
swinging  up  the  hill,  and   the  bugler,  taking  his  stand   at  the 


ATHENS,  AND   OLM^l    HAPPY   \'ISIT   TO   GREECE  91 

foot  of  Mars'  Hill,  gave  forth  stirring  notes,  which,  to  those 
near,  were  meant  to  wake  the  spirit  of  present  duty,  but 
which,  rising  to  us.  mellow  and  gentle  as  the  landscape, 
seemed   better  toned  to  call   back  the  spirit  of  a  mighty  past. 


"ON    TIIK    OTHKR    SI  l)K    ']  H  K    SHKl'HKRDS    KKl'T     rill.lR    SHKKP 
Photograph  by  Miss  Anna  M.  Matthews 

Close  by  the  Acropolis  is  Mars'  llill.  It  is.  and  probably 
always  has  been,  a  rough  hill,  and  the  steps  are  so  worn  and 
broken  that  the  ascent  is  made  with  some  difficulty.  Ho\-s 
are  near  who  offer  to  assist,  and  who  break  off,  and  for  a  trillr 
give  to  the  tourist,  bits  of  the  red  conglomerate,  with  }-ellow 
crystals  here  and  there  in  it,  of  which  the  hill  is  composed. 
The  ff)rmation  is  the  more  noticeablr  ix-iausr  tlu-  Acropolis  is 
a  li'dit  h'mcstonc. 


0-' 


rill-:  Di.D  WORLD  IN  Till':  Ni;\v  cEwrrm 


To  staiul  on  tlic  Acropolis  is  inspiring,  hut  the  Areopagus 
is  \-ct  more  so,  ami  the  memories  which  it  e\'okes  are  such  as 
to  stir  the  hhxHl.  It  was  probably  in  the  autumn  of  the  year 
;i  that  Taul  came  to  Athens.  It  was  not  on  his  itinerary, 
lie  came  without  any  apparent  purpose  to  work  here,  but 
simp!}-  to  wait  for  his  companions  whom  he  had  left  at  l^eroea. 
He  had  come  into  Europe  in  pursuit  of  a  vision — a  man  of 
Macedonia  asking  help.  He  had  come,  and  had  not  found 
the  man.  The  men  were  more  rare  in  church  than  now. 
Paul's  first  preaching  in  Europe  was  to  women.  The  first 
man  to  listen  to  him  was  the  jailer  at  Philippi.  Paul  had  had 
a  hard  time.  Writing  of  it  afterward  he  said  that  his  flesh  had 
no  rest;  without  were  fightings  and  within  were  fears. 
Bruised,  scourged,  disappointed,  he  came  to  Athens.  There 
he  saw  more  art  and  cultured  idolatry  than  he  had  ever  seen 
before.  It  was  an  idolatry  that  had  lost  its  moral  earnest- 
ness, which  half  doubted  all  gods  and  tolerated  them  all. 
Paul  discussed  matters  with  those  Jews  whom  he  first  met, 
and  afterward,  as  the  rumor  of  his  presence  spread,  he  found 
his  audience  growing  till  he  was  invited  to  tell  the  story  of 
Jesus  to  a  hardly  polite  and  cynical  audience  of  Attic  philoso- 


A 


>^      .•—■  <*«;« 


^3 


WHERE    I'AIL    PREACHED    IN    ATHENS 


ATHENS,  AND   OUR    HAPPY   VISIT   TO   GREECE  93 


MODERN   ATHENS 


pliers- on  Mars"  Hill.  The  Acropolis  was  in  its  glory  then, 
and  its  buildings  rose  in  faultless  marble  above  him  as  he 
stood.  With  rare  tact  he  took  his  text  from  a  heathen  poet 
who  had  been  granted  a  dim  vision  of  the  fatherhood  of  God. 
It  mattered  little  to  Paul  that  Aratus  called  God  Jove,  or  that 
he  spoke  of  Jove  as  our  Father  almost  in  tliat  impersonal  way 
in  which  men  speak  of  "Mother  Earth."  The  word  had  been 
said,  and  Paul  read  into  it  the  full  message  of  the  gospel. 
The  congregation  hardly  heard  him  through,  but  some,  and 
among  them  one  of  the  notable  men.  believed,  and  the  new- 
religion  grew.  In  time  the  I'ai-tlu-noii  itsi'lf  was  rcdedicated 
as  a  Christian  church;  and  in  the  sixth  cunlur\-  Minerva,  for 
whom  the  cit\-  was  named,  was  supplanted  in  popular  affec- 
tion by  Maiy.  the  nu)ther  of  Jesus.  Would  .ui\-  .Stoic  who 
heard  Paul  ])rearli  that  day  have  believed  that  I'allas  Athene 
herself  would  one  day  be  held  second  in  the  esteem  of  ;\tluMis 
to  the  mother  of  tin:  unknown  Carpenter  of  Galilet',  whom 
Paul  preached'  N'et  so  it  canu'  to  pass.  And  now  one  \'isits 
Athens  less  to  see  where  .Socrates  taught,  and  I'lato  reasout'd, 
and  Solon  made  laws,  and  Pericles  governed,  and  I'hidias 
wrought    his  immriital  di-eams   in  stone,  and   I'laxiteles  hewed 


«»}  nil    o\.\)  woKiD  IN    rill,  Ni;w  cicntuuy 

out  liis  sliapcs  of  marble  hrautw  and  Dt'inostlu-ncs  poured 
forth  his  loncnls  of  clmpR'ncc.  than  to  stand  on  the  rocky 
aiul  un.ulorneil  liei'Ljht  wlicre  I'aul  [)rcuchcd  his  sermon  of  a 
Gotl  unseen,  hut  not  far  from  e\'eiy  one  of  us,  and  of  Jesus 
Christ  the  S,i\  iour  of  all. 

One  must  dine.  e\en  in  Athens,  and  we  had  honey  from 
H\-mett us.  ami  1  for<;et  what  else.  This  was  the  one  thing 
1  \\cis  tletermined  to  ha\'e,  and  the  one  thin<4'  I  rememl)er  to 
ha\e  eaten.  It  was  good  enough  honey  for  the  (jreek  gods, 
but  we  ha\'e  better  at  home.  The  peasants  bring  it  in  in 
goat-skins,  and  it  looks  none  too  clean  as  it  comes  into 
Athens;   but  they  strain  it  and  make  it  reasonably  good. 

The  king  of  Greece  came  to  see  us  on  the  Celtic  that 
afternoon,  and  acted  like  a  thorougligoing  democrat,  l^he 
queen  and  two  of  the  {orinces  accompanied  him,  and  next  da)- 
they  received  a  number  of  the  tourists  at  the  palace.  There 
were  few  passengers  on  board  at  the  time  when  they  called  on 
us,  and  those  who  were  there  were  greeted  with  dignified 
cordiality.  One  man  who  did  not  happen  to  have  receivetl 
an  introduction,  walked  straight  up  to  him  and  said,  "Good 
afternooTi,  sir.  I  understand  that  you  are  the  king  of  Greece. 
I  am  an  American.  My  name  is  Jones,  from  Pittsburg."  It 
may  sound  like  a  rude  thing,  but  it  is  said  not  to  have  seemed 
so  to  the  few  who  heard  it,  n(^r  to  have  been  treated  so  by 
the  king.  His  majesty  shook  hands  with  the  American,  said 
a  courteous  wortl,  and  went  on  about  his  business. 

We  had  another  day  in  Athens,  and  we  had  done  so  much 
that  the  problem  of  the  second  day  became  perplexing.  If 
we  had  liad  a  month  we  could  have  used  it,  but  a  day  was  too 
much.  I  got  a  carriage,  and  went  over  the  ground  again,  to 
the  Acropolis,  the  Pnyx,  the  Areopagus,  the  temple  of 
Olympian  Zeus,  and  the  other  places  of  chief  interest.  The 
crowds  were  gone,  and  I  saw  these  places  more  quietly.  The 
two  impressions,  the  one  with  the  crowd  and  tlie  other  in 
comparative  solitude,  together  gave  the  angle  at  which  to  view 
ancient  Athens. 

Two   things   surprised    us    in   Athens — the   air   of   general 


ATHENS,  AND   OUR    HAPPY   VISIT  TO   GREECE 


95 


prosperity  in  a  countr}-  practically  bankrupt,  and  with  a  sadly 
depreciated  currency;  and  the  fine,  manly  appearance  of  the 
young  men  in  the  Greek  army,  which  made  so  miserable  a 
stand  against  the  Turks.  It  seemed  to  us  that  such  men 
might  have  won  the  freedom  of  Macedonia,  and  humbled  the 
pride  of  the  arrogant  Turk, 

In  one  of  the  public  gardens  of  Athens,  near  the  temple 
of  Olympian  Zeus,  stands  a  fine  recent  statue  to  Byron. 
Greece  remembers  his  interest  in  her  liberties,  and  the  Ameri- 


THK    STADIL'.M 
Photograph  by  Mrs.  K.  15.  Newell 


can  only  wishes  that  it  had  been  less  pyrotechnical  and  more 
honestly  earnest.  A  guard  stands  there,  and  when  u e  dis- 
mounted he  pointed  with  pride  to  the  well-kept  shrubbery, 
and  then  pointed  up  to  the  statue,  apparr-ntly  to  say  that  not 
only  in  the  erection  of  a  monuiut'nt  which,  once  erectetl,  abides, 
but  also  in  the  daily  care  which  the  foliage  recpn'res,  y\thens 
shows  her  love  for  the  poet  who  stirnul  the  hcail  of  the  uoild 
in  favor  of  (ireece. 

A  stiff  breeze  came  up  on  the  secoiul  afternoon,  and  we 
sped  out  to  our  ship  before  it.  It  was  glorious,  that  outward 
sail,  and  a  slight  accident  occurring  on  board,  the  sailors  were 
glad  to  let  me  take  the  helm  while  tlu'v  made   fast  a  sail  that 


OO 


rill-.  1)1.1)  wouii)  IN    iiii':  m;\v  century 


tore  loose  ill  {he  wiiul;  it  was  cxiiilaratiiig  to  bear  a  hand 
in  tlie  sailiiiL;  o(  a  hoat  on  tlie  Way  of  IMialeion,  which  lias 
been  plowetl  b}'  the  keels  ()t  frit^ates  and  triremes  and  buc- 
caneers since  the  world  was  yonnq;.  And  so  we  came  on 
board. 

It  was    a   beantifnl    evenini;",  and    the    descendini;'   sun    lay 


SUNSET    ox    SALA.MIS 


over  the   peninsula  and   the  bay  where   Xerxes  met  his  defeat 

in  480  B.  C. 

"A  king  sat  on  the  rocky  brow 

Tiiat  looks  o'er  sea-born  Salamis. 
And  sliips  by  thousands  lay  below, 

And  men  and  nations  -  all  were  his. 
He  counted  them  at  l)reak  of  day, 
And  wlien  the  sun  set  where  were  they?" 

The  sun  was  setting,  and  we  looked  over  at  Xerxes'  seat, 
and   at    the   tomb  of   Themistocles,  who   defeated    that   great 


ATHENS,  AND   OUR    HAPPY    VISIT  TO   CxREECE  97 

tyrant,  and  the  battle  that  saved  not  only  Greece  but  the 
world  seemed  wonderfully  real. 

Just  as  we  were  leaving  Pirseus  there  was  a  small  commo- 
tion, and  a  final  boat  came  alongside,  and  a  small  Greek  lad 
was  put  into  it  and  taken  ashore.  He  went  over  the  side 
crying,  for  he  had  stowed  himself  away  on  our  ship,  hoping 
to  make  the  rounds  with  us,  and  go  to  America.  His  case 
touched  us  all,  and  we  did  not  wonder  that  he  wished  to  stay 
with  us,  since  we  would  so  gladly  have  remained  longer  with 
him.  May  he  stay  at  home  and  learn  in  Greece  the  spirit  of 
Leonidas! 

We  remained  on  deck  that  evening,  looking  back,  while 
the  darkness  settled  and  the  light  lingered  long  and  lovingly 
on  the  Acropolis,  where  still  linger  our  fond  memories.  I 
pointed  my  camera  across  the  Bay  of  Salamis  as  the  sun  went 
down,  and  so  caught  the  fading  glories  of  that  happy  day, 
with  its  glorious  light  on  sea  and  shore.  i\s  the  last  gleam 
of  light  lifted  from  the  Acropolis,  and  the  shadows  deepened 
about  the  receding  shore,  we  became  reconciled  to  Byron,  and 
sang  to  the  city  herself — 

"  Maid  of  Athens,  ere  we  part, 
Give,  O  give  me  hack  my  lieart  I" 


CHAPTER  VII 

CONSTW  riNOri.K:  TIIK    CROSS    AND    TIIK    CRESCENT 

Wc  liiul  enjoyed  warm  weather,  but  we  found  snow  alont; 
the  Dardanelles.  Happil\-,  it  had  disappeared  when  we 
reached  Constantinople,  and  we  were  fairly  comfortable  there. 
lUit  few  of  the  stovepipes,  thrust  through  window-panes 
throughout  the  chill  city,  showed  any  smoke  emerging.  The 
people  were  saving  their  fuel.  Throughout  our  tour  the 
impression  grew  upon  us  that  warm  climates  are  the  places  of 
all  on   earth  where  men   suffer  with  the  cold. 

I  refrain  from  quoting  that  in  Constantinople  distance 
lends  enchantment  to  the  view.  The  remark  has  been  made 
before. 

Few  cities  present  so  attractive  an  appearance  from  the 
harbor.  It  surrounds  the  bay  where  the  ships  lie  at  anchor, 
and  is  divided  into  three  parts  by  the  Bosporus,  with  Scutari 
to  the  right  in  Asia,  and  the  Golden  Horn  with  its  fresh  water 
separating  Pera  and  Galata  on  the  east  from  Stamboul,  or 
Constantinople  proper;  but  Stamboul  is  a  peninsula,  thrust 
out  so  far  between  the  opposite  shores  that  Galata  really  lies 
north  of  it,  rather  than  east.  The  two  headlands  of  Scutari 
and  Stamboul  mark  the  confines  of  the  Sea  of  Marmora  and 
the  beginning  of  the  Bosporus.  There  are  no  bridges  across 
the  Bosporus,  but  there  are  two  across  the  Golden  Horn, 
into  which  empty  "the  sweet  waters  of  Europe."  It  is  not  at 
all  difificult  to  get  the  princi])a]  divisions  of  Constantinople 
in  mind,  as  the  three  main  parts  are  so  distinct.  Galata  and 
Pera  are  separated  by  no  natural  boundary  like  the  rest,  but 
Galata  is  the  loAver  section  nearer  the  water,  and  Pera  the 
higher  portion.  The  four  divisions  having  been  fixed  in  mind 
before  one  leaves  the  ship,  it  is  not  difficult  to  get  a  few  land- 
marks which  make  a  tour  of  the  city  comparatively  easy. 

98 


CONSTANTINOPLE  :   THE  CROSS  AND  THE  CRESCENT        99 

We  were  boarded  by  Turkish  officers  far  down  the  Darda- 
nelles, who  examined  our  papers,  and  took  off  our  purser  and 
surgeon  to  the  shore  to  certify  that  we  were  in  good  condition 
as  regards  health  and  civility.  They  were  anxious  to  know 
whether  we  had  on  board  any  anarchists  or  Armenians,  and 
being  assured,  verbally,  that  we  had  not,  they  expressed 
pleasure.      Later   the    Constantinople   officers   came    on    with 


THE   SUBLI.MK    PORTK 


many  a  red  fez  and  much  tarnished  gold  lace,  and  repeated 
the  same  questions.  They  asked  for  our  passports,  and  were 
shown  a  stack  of  parchment  nearly  a  yard  high;  for  our  docu- 
ments had  been  collected  in  advance,  and  in  truth  they  made 
a  formidable  looking  piK;  with  their  red  seals  and  official  cer- 
tificates. To  go  through  these  before  permitting  us  to  land 
was  manifestly  impossible,  so  we  were  permitted  to  go  ashore 
by  giving  our  personal  cards,  I'ut  the  officers  remained  on 
board,  and  others  met  us  at  the  dock,  and  otlurs  patrolled 
about   the  ship   in   boats,  so  that  uc  did  not  suffer  for  lack  of 


loo  rill'    0\.\i    WORLD    1\     1111-:    NKW   CKNTl'RV 

official   attention.      This.  lun\cvcr,  was  done  with  all  civility, 
.uul  afforded  us  no  particul.ir  embarrassment. 

A  London  paper  reached  us  as  we  were  leaving  Cairo,  with 
an  account  of  our  expedition  at  Constantinople.  The  captain 
was  refused  permission  to  land,  so  the  paper  said,  until  after 
a  vexatious  delay;  was  refused  permission  to  fly  the  flag  of 
the  Royal  Naval  Reserve;  the  passports  were  inspected  most 
minutely;  and  the  Americans  on  shore  w-ere  dogged  by  police 
and  detectives;  Consul-General  Dickinson  had  to  interfere 
in  our  behalf,  and  so  on.  All  of  which  is  a  fine  exhibit  of 
yellow  journalism. 

Consul-General  Dickinson  came  on  board  as  soon  as  we 
dropped  anchor,  and  greatly  endeared  himself  to  the  passen- 
gers by  constant  kindnesses  while  we  stayed.  He  sailed  up 
the  Bosporus  with  us  to  the  Black  Sea,  dined  with  us  on  the 
Celtic,  and  headed  a  subscription  by  which  we  paid  off  a  debt 
of  one  thousand  dollars  on  the  Girls'  School  at  Scutari — a  fine 
American  college,  and  the  complement  of  Robert  College  for 
men.  Whether  the  Celtic  flew  all  the  possible  British  flags, 
I  do  not  know,  but  the  union  jack  flew  high,  and  the  stars 
and  stripes  were  everywhere  on  board,  and  were  waved  back 
from  Robert  College,  and  from  the  Tower  of  Oblivion  in  the 
castle  of  Rumili  Hissar,  and  the  band  played  "The  Star 
Spangled  Ikmner"  to  answering  cheers. 

In  a  service  at  Robert  College  the  students  sang  "America" 
with  right  good  will;  and  we  learned  that  it  is  a  favorite 
hymn  also  with  the  girls  at  Scutari.  There  were  some  police 
restrictions,  but  they  hampered  us  little.  Indeed,  we  had 
more  freedom  than  Americans  resident  in  the  city.  Three 
teachers  from  the  girls'  school  at  Scutari,  dining  on  the 
Celtic,  were  refused  a  permit  to  return  to  the  school,  and  got 
ashore  for  the  night  to  a  hotel,  under  the  impression  of  the 
guard  that  they  were  passengers.  One  of  these  same  teach- 
ers, an  Armenian  graduate  of  the  school,  had  been  in  jail  at 
the  time  of  the  Armenian  massacres.  This  w^as  no  unusual 
exhibition  of  police  activity.  It  was  simply  the  customary 
caution  of   the   police.      All    this  seemed    to    us  very  strange. 


CONSTANTINOPLE  :   THE  CROSS  AND  THE  CRESCENT      loi 

but   it  was   no  discrimination   against  the  Celtic — indeed,  we 
were  repeatedly  aware  that  we  enjoyed  special  liberties. 

Consul-General  Dickinson  took  a  party  of  seventy  of  his 
countrymen  to  the  treasury,  in  the  old  harem  at  Seraglio 
Point.  He  had  made  all  arrangements,  and  we  passed  the 
outer  gate  without  delay.  But  within  we  were  kept  waiting 
two  hours,  facing  a  line  of  beardless  eunuchs,  with  long  arms 


"THIS    JJKIDGE    OUGHT   TO    BE    MARKED   THE    CENTER   OF   THE    WORLD" 


and  ill-shapen  hips,  awaiting  a  telegram  from  the  sultan  con- 
firming our  permission.  It  came  at  length,  couched  in  most 
gracious  words,  and  expressing  royal  pleasure  in  conferring 
the  honor.  So  tiie  Americans  entered  and  saw  the  jewels, 
and  drank  coffee  out  of  golden  cups,  and  all  the  Turks  seemed 
to  think  that  we  had  been  highly  honored.  We,  however, 
looked  often  at  our  watches,  thought  of  thi'  things  wc  fain 
would  see,  and  remembered  tliat  we  were  in    rurl<ey. 

From  all  that  we  could  see  and  learn,  our  own  consul- 
general  is  highly  esteemed  in  'rnrkc\-.  both  1)\'  tlie  Turks  and 
the   Americans.      The    only    criticism    heard    cimcerning    him 


I02  THK    OLD    WORLD    IX     Till';    MAY    CllNl'L'KV 

was  that  his  nu'lhiuls  arc  so  open  and  iliii'ct  as  sonictinios  not 
to  succcctl  aj^ainst  the  intrii^uc  of  ()rienlal  poh'tics.  Ikit  it 
was  acklcd  that  c\'cn  in  the  (")iient  it  pays  in  tlie  end  to  bo 
honest;  and  thai  i\li'.  Dickinson  has  won  his  j)lacc  and  name 
in  Constantinople  as  a  man  and  a  di])lon\at,  and  a  tiue  Ameri- 
can devoted  to  the  interests  of  his  country.  All  this  \vc  were 
prepared  to  believe,  and  we  count  ourselves  his  debtor  for 
many  a  pleasure  connected  with  our  \'isit  to  Constantinople. 
Mr.  Dickinson  himself  told  us  of  the  rescue  of  Miss  Stone, 
the  brax'c  American  woman  who  had  been  captured  by  brigands 
and  hekl  for  ransom,  and  with  modesty  as  to  his  own  part  in 
the  matter.  We  w^ere  glad  to  hear  it  from  his  own  lips.  All 
the  Americans  whom  we  met  assured  us  that  during  those 
weary  months  he  had  borne  her  case  on  his  own  heart  wath 
fidelity  and  earnestness.  He  was  very  guarded  in  his  state- 
ments about  the  case,  and  we  inferred  that  there  was  much 
tliat  could  not  be  told. 

Some  of  us  went  ashore  the  first  night,  aiul  strolled  about 
the  dark  streets.  There  were  no  sensations  except  dogs,  and 
most  of  these  have  no  sensations  except  fleas,  I  am  per- 
suaded that  the  Constantinople  dogs  have  been  maligned. 
They  are  represented  as  fierce  monsters,  liable  to  pursue  a  help- 
less passenger  going  through  the  streets.  I  did  not  see  any 
that  had  ambition  enough  to  move  to  keep  from  being  stepped 
on.  The  carriages  have  to  turn  out  for  them  constantly. 
Moreover,  it  is  a  base  libel  to  affirm  that  in  Constantinople 
it  is  more  of  a  crime  to  kill  a  dog  than  a  man.  The  penalty 
for  killing  a  man  is  seven  years'  imprisonment,  while  the 
murder  of  a  dog  entails  a  three  years'  penalty.  It  takes  two 
and  one-third  dogs  to  be  worth  a  man  in  the  eyes  of  the  law. 
It  is  possible,  however,  that  c)ne  is  more  likely  to  be  con- 
victed for  killing  a  dog  than  a  man. 

They  have  tram-cars  in  the  streets  of  Constantinople. 
They  are  ungainly,  double-decked  affairs,  and  the  driver  toots 
a  horn  as  the  car  comes  slowdy  lumbering  down  the  street. 
Half  the  space  within  is  reserved  for  women,  and  the  men 
occupy  the  rest. 


CONSTANTINOPLE  :   THE  CROSS  AND  THE  CRESCENT      103 

We  had  a  guide  in  Constantinople,  "Moses  No.  i."  He 
is  not  "Far-away  Moses,"  but  counts  himself  quite  as  good 
a  guide.  We  counted  him  among  the  best  of  our  guides. 
The  former  Moses  is  in  a  store,  finding  it  more  profitable  to 
sell  goods  on  his  reputation  than  to  continue  as  a  cicerone. 
We  visited  his  bazaar  and  met  him.  He  has  been  in  America, 
and  I  think  is  an  American  citizen.  Indeed,  it  surprised  us 
to  find  that  a  good  many  peoi)le  had  come  to  America  the 
year  of  the  World's  Fair,  and  had  become  naturalized  and 
returned.  Moses'  employer  or  partner  is  one  of  these,  and 
speaks  English  well. 

Prices  in  Constantinople  seemed  v^ery  high  as  compared 
with  those  of  some  other  ports  we  visited,  and  the  bazaars, 
while  attracti\'e,  are  places  where  one  can  spend  money  very 
fast.  They  have  a  pretense  of  one  price,  and  in  this  respect 
are  unlike  Oriental  bazaars  elsewhere. 

We  first  directed  our  steps  to  the  Galata  Bridge,  where 
one  may  take  his  stand  and  see  the  world  go  by,  the  world 
of  the  past  as  well  as  all  t\-pes  of  life  of  the  present.  Even 
at  night,  when  Constantinople  shuts  up  and  retires  from  view. 


"  IIKKK    OCCrKKKI)    CONTESTS    OF   Sl'KKI)    AM)    SKIM, 


U4  rill    oi.P  woKi.i)  IN    ['ui:  Ni:\\   li:nitky 

the  life  of  the  woiKI  trickles  ovcv  this  britl^c,  ami  in  the  ilu}'- 
tiiiie  it  mox'es  in  a  const. int  stream.  Here  the  Arnieni.in 
massacres  broke  out.  This  hiidj^e,  antl  not  the  (ireek  chapel 
in  lerusaleni,  ou^ht  to  be  niarketl  as  the  center  of  the  world. 
It  is  a  pleasant  bridi^e  to  look  upon,  but  a  loose,  clatterin^^ 
old  trap  when  one  comes  to  cross  it.  Like  everythini^  else  in 
Constantinople,  it  is  shabby  when  one  approaches  it.  Across 
it  come  all  manner  of  venders,  some  with  cart-wheels  of  flow- 
ers, and  others  with  round  trays  of  little  silver-like  fish,  glitter- 
ing and   attractive  as  the   flowers,  and  others   peddling  water. 

Being  a  walled  city,  Constantinople  was  also  a  city  of 
(Tates.  One  of  these'  gates,  still  standing,  has  given  to  the 
Turkish  government  its  of^cial  name,  the  Sublime  Porte. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  places  in  Constantinople  is  the 
Hippodrome,  which,  barring  its  more  savage  memories,  is  to 
Constantinople  what  the  Colosseum  is  to  Rome.  Plere  oc- 
curred those  contests  of  speed  and  skill  that  delighted  the 
populace  in  the  old  days.  In  this  old  oval  stands  the 
obelisk,  of  Egyptian  syenite,  sixty  feet  high,  brought  hither 
by  Theodosius  the  Great  from  Heliopolis,  where  it  was 
erected  by  Thothmes  III. 

Another  interesting  monument  adorns  the  Hippodrome, 
if  adorn  is  now  the  proper  word,  for  it  is  a  black  and  ruinous 
shaft  of  masonry.  Once  it  was  covered  with  plates  of  bronze, 
and  gleamed  in  the  sun  like  a  shaft  of  light.  The  four 
bronze  horses  on  St.  Mark's,  the  only  horses  in  Venice,  that 
have  traveled  farther  than  any  horses  on  earth,  decorated  this 
column. 

Between  these  two  obelisks  the  brazen  serpent  column, 
tarnished  and  headless,  marks  the  center  of  the  old  race-course. 
It  is  formed  of  three  brazen  serpents,  their  bodies  twisted 
too"ether,  and  their  heads  spreading  outward  for  the  support 
of  the  golden  tripod.  The  tripod  was  placed  on  the  top  of 
this  pedestal,  even  then  old  and  honored,  after  the  battle  of 
Plataea.  The  column  thus  completed  was  used  in  their  wor- 
ship by  the  priestesses  of  Delphi.  Constantine  brought  it 
here.      It  is  badly  battered,  but  is  a  fine  old  relic. 


CONSTANTINOPLE:   THE  CROSS  AND  THE  CRESCENT      105 

Not  far  away  one  may  visit  the  famous  cistern,  the  most 
notable  of  the  many  by  which  Constantinople  was  provided 
for  in  case  of  siege.  Through  a  private  yard  one  descends  a 
narrow  and  slippery  stair  into  a  dark  hole  capable  of  accommo- 
dating perhaps  a  dozen  at  a  time.  A  torch  is  handed  down, 
made  of  shavings  or  tow,  or  some  loose  stuff  saturated  with 
oil,  and  smoking  like  a  brand  from  Tartarus.      Down  into  this 


INTKRIOR   OF   THE    MOSQUE   OF   SAINT   SOl'HIA 

sepulchral  pit  one  gropes  his  way,  with  all  manner  of  creepy 
sensations,  heightened  by  the  dampness.  lUit  below,  a  beau- 
tiful sight  is  revealed  by  the  light  of  the  smoking  torch.  The 
cistern  is  336  feet  long  and  i<S2  feet  wide,  and  has  a  vaulted 
roof  resting  on  336  columns,  arranged  in  i .;  rows  of  2 <S  cohinins 
each.  The  colunnis  arc  39  feet  high,  and  niaii_\-  ha\-c  fiiu'ly 
carved  Corinthian  capitals.  And  lliis  is  a  cistern  I  It  seems 
more  like  a  great  marine  cathedral,  witli  tin-  h\'l)t  (Kiii"-  awav 
among  the  columned  aisles.  The  semi-iiifernal  effect  of  tin- 
descent   changes   in    sudden    contrast    to   dch'ght.      The  water 


io6         -nil':  OLD  woKi.n  in   iiii':  ni:\\   ckniury 

li(:^hts  up  in  noiseless  little  rijiiilcs  that  ebb  u\va\-  aniont:;  the 
pillars,  anil  one  alnicist  expects  the  sound  of  an  unseen  organ 
to  break  the  silence  with  music  unearthly  and  weird,  but 
strangely  sweet,  and  to  fill  the  soul  with  unutterable  har- 
monies of  eternal  mysteries  half  revealed  in  this  strange 
subterranean  temple,  with  its  floors  of  silent  water  reaching 
down  to  unimaginable  depths  of  eternal  tjuiet. 

W'e  start  back  to  life  with  a  sudden  realization  of  the 
present.  riie  torch  has  gone  out,  and  we  are  on  a  slippery 
ledge  over  a  black  abyss,  and  the  place  is  full  of  smoke  and 
shudderings.  The  smoke  is  as  eager  to  get  out  as  we  are,  and 
fills  the  narrow  entrance  till  it  chokes  us;  and  we  emerge, 
soot}-  and  damp.  But  we  would  not  ha\'e  missed  it  for  any- 
thing. 

We  stand  now  where  stood  the  ancient  hnv  courts  of 
Justinian,  from  whose  code  we  inherit  much  of  legal  proced- 
ure; f(~)r  the  dismal  entrance  to  the  famous  cistern  occupies 
the  site  of  the  ancient  portico  once  filled  with  booksellers' 
stalls,  and  thronged  with  eminent  jurists.  Surely  these 
courts  stood  well  above  this  great  pit  as  if  to  remind  men  of 
tlie  uncertain  abyss  beneath  the  feet  of  him  who  goes  to  law! 

Another  thing  which  we  greatly  enjoyed  in  Constantinople 
was  its  museums.  The  Imperial  Museum  of  Antiquities,  con- 
sisting of  the  Chinili  Kiosk,  and  the  "New  Museum"  contain 
superb  collections,  which  it  would  be  folly  for  a  work  like 
this  to  attempt  to  describe,  and  greater  folly  for  even  the 
most  fleeting  tourist  to  omit.  I  dare  trust  myself  to  mention 
only  one  thing  which  it  contains,  the  so-called  sarcophagus 
of  Alexander,  which  I  think  is  the  most  beautiful  work  of  art 
I  have  ever  seen. 

As  the  sultan  is  the  head  of  the  Mohammedan  Church, 
Constantinople  is  the  center  of  that  religion,  and  its  mosques 
are  very  nearly  the  most  celebrated  in  the  world.  One  may 
visit  them  freely,  but  must  either  put  off  his  shoes  or  rent  a 
pair  of  huge  slippers,  which  are  fastened  on  loosely  by  an 
attendant.  If  the  visitor  has  a  pair  of  rubbers  in  his  hand, 
he  need  not  wear  slippers,  as  theoretically  he  has  taken  off  his 


CONSTANTINOPLE:   THE  CROSS  AND  THE  CRESCENT      107 

shoes.  There  is  no  act  so  meritorious  on  the  part  of  an 
infidel,  as  the  Mohammedans  esteem  him.  as  the  wavin;^  in 
the  face  of  the  attendant  of  a  pair  of  old  rubbers.  It  is  also 
profitable  to  the  tourist,  financially.  The  rental  of  the  slip- 
pers is  not  large,  but  the  slippers  are,  and  they  are  perpetually 
coming  ofT.      One  must  not  lift   his  feet,  but   shuffle  over  the 


MOSQUE   OF   AHMEIJ    1 


rugs  lest  he  lose  his  footgear.      ]?ut  it  is  easier  to  hire  slipi)ers 
than  go  barefoot  as  the  Mohammedans  do. 

Every  one  who  visits  Constantinople  hastens  to  the 
Mosque  of  .Saint  .Sophia,  and  most  of  them  ask  curiousK-. 
"And  who  was  .Saint  .S(~)phia?"  .She  was  no  one.  It  is  IIoK- 
Wisdom  for  whom  this  mos([ue,  once  a  m,iL;ni!iccnt  (hiistian 
church,  is  nanu-d.  Spite  of  its  tawdi)-  decoi-at ions,  it  is  one 
of  the  most  symmetrical  and  impressive  houses  of  worship  in 
the  world,  and  is  said  to  be  the  most  pci  feet  .ind  bcuitiful 
cliurch  ever  erected  1)\'  Christians.  On  h'riday  the  Koian  is 
read    here  1)_\-  a    piicst,  hojdin;.;-    in  his    hand  ,i  (hawii    sword,  a 


loS  ■[■HI-:    Ol  n    WOKl  1>    IN     1111      M.W     L'KNl'im' 

roniinilor  that  this  phux-  w.is  taken  by  x-iolcnco  from  tlic 
C'hiisliaiis.  This  is  the  third  of  the  I'hristian  churi:hcs  that 
have  stinnl  on  this  site,  the  fornicr  two  ha\ii\L;  ht'cn  (lostro\'ctl 
h\-  tuc.  The  first  was  l)uilt  b)'  Constantino,  and  the  present 
lunise  1)\-  Justinian.  The  C'hristian  frescoes  and  mosaics  have 
been  painted  ovcv,  but  here  and  there  tliey  show  through. 
There  is  a  gooil  deal  of  whitewash  apparent  in  tlie  average 
mosijue.  and  Saint  Sophia  is  no  ex'ception.  The  rugs  in  all 
mosques  look  cheap  compared  with  one's  expectations. 
Those  of  Saint  Sophia  are  small,  pieced  together,  and 
pointed  toward  Mecca.  As  the  building  was  not  erected  iov 
Mohammedan  worship,  this  gives  everything  an  unwonted 
bias. 

lie  would  pass  for  a  poor  tourist  who  would  leave  Con- 
stantinople confessing  that  he  had  seen  but  one  mosque. 
Next  in  interest  after  Saint  Sophia  is  that  of  Ahmed  I,  the 
onl\-  mosque  outside  of  Mecca  with  seven  minarets.  It  is  very- 
pleasing  in  its  exterioi,  and  tempts  one  again  to  say  what  I 
have  resolved  not  to  say,  that  distance  lends  enchantment  to 
the  view.  Below,  and  extending  to  the  clearstory,  are  courses 
of  the  old  tile  in  prevailing  tones  of  rich  blue,  so  that  this  is 
sometimes  called  the  blue  mosque.  But  above  the  tile  are 
new  decorations  in  paint  or  other  color  with  crude  attempts 
to  match  the  tile  below.  One  of  our  young  ladies  described 
the  effect  as  "simply  eye-scratching."  Next  to  this  in  inter- 
est is  the  Mosque  of  Suleiman  the  Magnificent.  Of  the  three, 
it  is  commonly  said  that  Saint  Sophia  is  the  most  beautiful, 
Ahmed  the  most  graceful,  and  Suleiman  the  most  magnificent. 
There  are  I  know  not  how  many  more  mosques,  and  many 
of  them  are  alleged  to  be  of  interest.  But  my  experience 
with  mosques  leads  me  to  say  that  they  are  generally  a  disap- 
pointment. Their  elegant  carpets  look  as  if  they  had  been 
made  in  some  shoddy  modern  factory,  and  their  decorations 
are  generally  cheapened  by  their  striving  after  effect.  One 
soon  wearies  of  the  monotony  of  the  mosques,  and  is  glad  to 
return  to  a  world  where  he  can  wear  his  own  shoes. 

We  had  one  meal  in  a  famous  Stamboul  restaurant.      We 


CONSTANTINOPLE:   THE  CROSS  AND  THE  CRESCENT      109 

had  to  leave  our  carriages  at  the  muddiest  corner  in  Constanti- 
nople, and  pick  our  way  through  the  narrowest  and  most 
unappetizing  street,  and  climb  a  stair.  But  once  within  we 
fared  very  well,  and  feasted  on  Turkish  delight,  and  other 
things  whose  names  I  have  forgotten,  and  concerning  whose 
ingredients  there  is  a  deep  and  solemn  mystery.  When  one 
eats  in  a  Constantinople  restaurant,  his  guide  stands  guard 


RUMILl   HISSAR   AND    ROBERT   COLLEGE 

over  liim,  and  hurries  the  waiters,  or  docs  what  in  the  Orient 
is  counted  an  attempt  to  hurr\-,  and  settles  with  the  visitor 
afterward.  It  was  one  of  the  oddest  experiences  of  our  tour 
to  see  this  grou])  of  oui'  guides,  with  the  gold-laced  cavasses 
from  the  consulate,  standing  along  the  walls  witli  \\hi[)s  ami 
swords,  and  stopping  the  waiters  to  inspect  our  orders.  Still, 
it  gave  us  the  feeling  that  we  were  being  looked  after,  and  it 
was  one  of  the  things  we  had  come  to  see  and  ilo. 

We  greatly  enjoycil   a   lecture   delivered   on    shiptxiard   by 
Professor  van  Millingen  ol   kobert  ('olK:L;e,  on  "Ancient  Con- 


I  lo  viw.  oi.n  woivi.n  i\    riu    m  \v  ci:\rrRV 

stant  inopk-."'  It  iu,it<.Ti. illy  assisted  us  in  locating:;  the  ancient 
places  in  tiio  L\instantin(iplc  oi  tc»-(.la\\  In  nian\'  places  the 
ancient  w.ills  arc  standing,  followiuL;  the  spcar-trail  of  Con- 
st.intinc.  when  he  built  his  own  new  cit)'  on  the  site  of  one 
much  oKlcr.  More  than  twenty-six  centuries  ago  the  Greeks 
estahlisheil  a  colony  on  the  Asiatic  side  of  the  Bosporus. 
These  adventurers  were  folh^wed  a  generation  Liter  by  another 
band  of  Greek  wanderers,  who  sc^ught  advice  of  the  oracle 
concerning  their  city's  location.  ''Build  your  city  over 
against  the  city  of  the  blind,"  replied  the  oracle.  Rarely  did 
the  oracle  speak  so  plainly.  Who  could  be  so  blind  as  the 
men  who  had  failed  to  see  the  superior  advantages  of  the 
peninsula  on  the  European  side  of  this  ocean-river?  They 
founded  their  city  there,  and  from  their  leader,  l^yzas,  they 
named  it  Byzantium.  So  it  stood  until  the  fourth  Christian 
century,  when  Constantine  built  upon  its  site  the  New  Rome, 
which  he  named  for  himself,  and  here  removed  the  capital, 
leaving  the  city  on  the  Tiber  to  languish. 

Fifty  years  before  America  was  discovered  the  Mohamme- 
dans laid  siege  to  Constantinople,  and  built  their  great  castle, 
Runiili  Hissar,  on  the  European  side  above  the  city,  and  cap- 
tured it  in  1453.  The  ancient  castle  stands,  its  walls  forming 
the  initial  of  the  name  Mohammed.  Seen  from  the  Bosporus, 
it  is  the  most  impressive  castle  that  I  have  ever  looked  upon, 
and  the  towers  with  which  its  \vall  is  studded  give  it  an 
appearance  of  great  strength.  Just  above  it  on  the  hill 
stands  Robert  College,  built  also  for  the  conquest  of  the  city, 
but  by  peaceful  and  righteous  methods.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
striking  accidents  or  providences  of  juxtaposition  that  has 
caused  the  erection  of  these  two  institutions  where  they 
stand,  and  the  suggestion  of  similarity  and  contrast  comes  to 
one  at  once.  By  education  and  morality  and  spiritual  power 
the  college  will  yet  prove  the  mightier  castle  of  the  two.  Its 
position  is  prophetic.  There  is  destiny  in  the  mere  propin- 
quity of  the  two.  At  the  lower  corner  of  the  castle  farthest 
from  the  city  stands  a  tower  known  as  the  Castle  of  Oblivion, 
of  which  frightful  tales  are  told,  of  bowstringing  and  throwing 


CONSTANTINOPLE:   THE  CROSS  AND  THE  CRESCENT      m 

into  the  Bosporus  those  who  entered  there.  When  the 
Celtic  sailed  up  the  Bosporus,  and  Robert  College  bloomed 
out  in  red,  white  and  blue  to  greet  her  as  she  sailed  past, 
some  students  climbed  to  the  top  of  this  tower,  and  there,  as 
from  the  top  of  the  hill  above,  they  flung  out  the  stars  and 
stripes.  America  wants  no  territory  there,  but  the  symbol 
was  one  to  thrill  the  heart  of  an  American  with  hope  for  the 
future  of  that  land  through  the  dissemination  of  intelligence 


THE    BOSPORUS 


and   the  Christian    faith    for  which    that    flag  waves   over  the 
waters  of  the  Levant. 

In  the  delegation  of  Americans  who  dined  with  us  on  the 
ship  and  ascended  the  Bosporus  with  us,  \\as  Rev.  Robert 
Chambers,  D.D.,  head  of  the  school  and  orjihanagc  at  Barde- 
zag.  He  is  among  the  most  distinguished  of  iVnierican  mis- 
sionaries, for  his  goodness,  wisdom,  and  usefulness.  He  told 
me  that  in  a  district  near  jiis  home  one  man  had  in  three 
months  sold  a  lunulred  dollars'  \\c)rth  of  Bibles  and  Testaments 
in  the  Turkish  language.  The  prices  are  very  small,  being 
the  cost  of  publication,  or  a  little  less,  but  books  are  sold  rather 
than  given,  because  the  purchaser  values  so  much  more  highly 
what  he  pays  for.  It  takes  a  great  many  Testaments  to  make 
a  hundred    dollars,  and    the  people  who    l)ii\-  them    are  mostly 


1 1 


Till-:  DLi)  WOULD  IN    1111.  m:\\   ci:NrrK\ 


poor,  hut  cayicr  to  i;ct  the  Bible,  or  at  least  the  New  'restaiuent. 
It  is  this  kind  o\  work  whieh  in  time  must  hiini;  enhi;liten- 
ment  to  l"url<e\-.  The  institutions  tliat  rcpii-sent  the  intelH- 
iTcnee  anil  ric'hteousncss  of  the  Christian  faith  ha\'e  in  them  a 
power  L;reater  than  that  before  which  Constantinople  fell  more 
than  fiMir  hundred  years  a<20.  The  walls  of  Rumili  Hissar 
traced  the  initial  of  the  name  of  Mohammed;  but  the  spirit 
of  Christian  labor  now  in  prc^^jress  in  Turkey  spells  a  Name 
more  potent  and  moi-c  enduring. 


CHAPTER  Mil 

SMYRNA  AND   EPHESUS 

The  descriptions  of  Smyrna  in  tlie  guide-books  are  so  com- 
monplace that  we  anticipated  little  there,  and  in  truth  the  cit_\' 
has  less  localized  historic  interest  than  many  others.  But  it  is 
well  worth  vdsiting.  It  has  a  great  broad  street  along  the 
water  front,  where  ships  make  fast  to  the  docks  directly 
across  from  the  business  blocks.  Half  a  mile  farther  up,  the 
best  residences  are  built  along  the  bay.  A  composite  crowd 
packed  the  street  for  two  blocks,  making  it  almost  impossible 
for  us  to  get  ashore.  Drivers  of  cabs  shouted,  sellers  of  milk 
rattled  their  brass  cups  and  displayed  the  picturesque  milk 
bottles  on  their  shoulders,  and  the  agents  of  relic  factories 
showed  their  alleged  antiques  and  implored  us  to  buy.  But 
the  air  was  fresh,  the  street  was  clean,  the  people  seemed 
cordial,  and  we  were  happy. 

We  were  bundled  into  tram-cars,  each  drawn  by  a  single 
horse,  and  conveyed  to  the  rail\\a\'  station,  a  mile  or  more 
away.  One  horse  can  haul  quite  a  load  on  a  level  with  smooth 
rails,  but  if  a  stop  is  made  on  the  slightest  grade,  he  has  a 
hard  road  to  travel.  We  had  to  get  out  once  and  push  the 
car  over  a  very  small  hill.  k'ortunatel)-.  however,  the  car  line 
encounters  no  elevations  woith  mentioning,  and  the  ordinary 
traffic  can  hardly  be  u  hat  it  was  that  day. 

As  we  rode  along  the  street,  women  leaned  out  of  the 
windows  and  waved  at  us,  and  we  waxed  back  again,  and  it 
looked  as  though  Smyina  had  tuinrd  out  to  pirsmt  us  the 
freedom  of  the  city. 

In  reality,  however,  the\'  had  not  come  to  i)resent  us  any- 
thing. The  report,  first  cabled  from  Malta,  that  we  were  a 
company  of  American  millionaires,  had  wrought  us  harm  in 
every  port,  but  at   Sm\-nia  it  put    uj)  the  prices  to   a  fabulous 

"3 


1  1. 


THi-:  oi.n  wiiui.i)  IN    iiii':  m:\\'  ciiNrrKV 


iiltitiKlc.  People  came  anioni;"  us  ami  asked  us  confidentially 
to  luu'nt  iHit  |.  IMerpimt  Morgan,  antl  to  show  them  Andrew 
Carneuio.  It  was  no  use  to  tell  them  that  these  men  were 
not  with  us;  it  onh-  deepened  the  suspicion  of  the  questioner 
that  he  was  talking;-  to  one  of  these  very  men,  desirous  of 
maintaining-  his  incognito.  When  two  natives  stood  apart 
and    pointed    to  a   humble  American   minister   of  the   gospel, 


THE    QUAY    AT    SMYRNA 

and  whispered  low,  the  clergyman  had  reason  to  believe  that 
they  were  confiding  to  each  other  the  fact  that  he  was  John 
D.  Rockefeller.  Millionaires  rose  from  the  dead  to  join  us 
in  Smyrna,  if  you  are  to  believe  the  gossip  of  the  wharf,  and 
a  man  who  preaches  to  a  little  company  of  good  people  in 
Kansas  was  identified  on  that  day  as  Jay  Gould.  It  was  a 
new  sensation  to  most  of  us  to  be  pointed  out  as  rich  men. 

Smyrna  lies  in  latitude  38°  30'  north  and  longitude  27^ 
9'  east.  It  is  the  principal  commercial  city  of  the  Levant, 
and  was  founded  in  688  B.  C.     It  is  one  of  the  cities  addressed 


SMYRNA  AND   EPHESUS 


I  1 


by  John  in  Rev.  2:  8-12,  and  is  commended  for  its  fidelity 
amid  persecution.  It  is  also  one  of  that  otlier  group  of  seven 
cities — in  that  it  is  a  birthplace  of  Homer- — • 

Se\  en  cities  strove  for  Homer,  dead, 

Through  which  the  living  Homer  begged  his  bread. 

Smyrna  is  288  miles  from  Constantinople  and  686  miles 
from  Jaffa.      Of  it  Charles  Dudley  Warner  wrote: 

"One  of  tlie  most  ancient  cities  of  the  globe,  it  has  no  appearance  of 
antiquity;  containing  all  nationalities,  it  has  no  nationality;  the  second 
commercial  city  of  the  East,  it  has  no  chamber  of  commerce,  no  bourse, 
no  commercial  unity;  its  citizens  are  of  no  country,  and  have  no  impulse  of 
patriotism;  it  is  an  Asiatic  city  with  a  Euro]:)ean  face;  it  produces  nothing, 
it  exchanges  everything;  the  children  of  the  East  are  sent  to  its  schools, 
but  it  has  no  literary  character  nor  any  influence  of  culture;  it  is  hospitable 
to  all  religions,  and  consjiicuous  for  none;  it  is  the  paradise  of  the  Turks, 
the  home  of  luxury  and  of  beautiful  women." 

In  Smyrna  we  first  saw  camels,  coming  into  the  city  from 
all  interior  points,  laden  with  lime,  stone,  charcoal,  figs,  dates, 
spices,    poultry,    and    all    imaginable   merchandise.      High    on 


"AN    ANCIKNT    (\T\    Wmi    NO    A  l'l'i:A  KA.Nf.'IC    OK    ANI'IOIITV" 


I  lO 


111.    OLD    WORLD    IN     11 1 1'-    M;\\     LlCNll   KV 


the  liacks  of  dtluT  c.inu'ls  prixlu'd  lidcis,  with  one  ]c'^  crossed 
over  their  slulTetl  s.uUlIes  or  huIi;inL;  i)aeks.  The  men  were 
dressctl  in  p.irt\--coloreil  ()iienlal  clolli,  niostl\-  pat cliwork. 
.\s  they  riile  they  smoke,  and  as  thi.'\-  smokt-  the\-  often  seem 
to  sleep.  So  pass  the  miles  till  the  camels  hall  and  kneel  and 
discharLre  their  loatls  in  the  markets  of  Snu  rna.  which  one  of 
our  kuh'es  described  as  "a  Hahi'l  of  sound,  and  reek  of  smell." 


thp:  tomb  of  folvcarp 


Here,  also,  we  note  the  graceful  minaret  of  the  mosque; 
and  here  also  an  American  windmill  from  Batavia,  Illinois. 

The  most  interesting  historical  monument  in  Smyrna  is 
the  tomb  of  Polycarp,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  characters 
in  ancient  Christendom,  who  was  Bishop  of  Smyrna,  and  had 
been  a  disciple  of  the  Apostle  John.  He  suffered  martyrdom 
here,  in  i66,  according  to  Musebius,  or  167,  according  to 
Jerome,  Modern  scholars  are  disposed  to  place  the  date 
earlier,  some  as  early  as  155.  Of  I'olx'carp  his  disciple  Ire- 
naeus  wrote.  "I  can  tell  also  the  very  ])lace  where  the  blessed 
Polycarp  was  accustomed  to  sit  and  discoiirse;  and  also  his 
entrances,  his  walks,  the  complexion  of  his  life,  and  the  form  of 


SMYRNA  AND   EPHESUS  117 

liis  body,  and  his  conversation  with  the  people,  and  liis  famih'ar 
intercourse  witli  John,  as  he  was  accustomed  to  tell,  as  also  his 
familiarity  with  those  who  had  seen  the  Lord."  Polycarp  is 
one  of  the  most  important  of  the  connecting  links  between 
the  apostles  themselves  and  later  ages.  The  story  is  familiar 
that  when  he  could  have  saved  his  life  by  reviling  Christ,  and 
being  so  asked  by  the  proconsul  Statins  Ouadratus,  he 
answered:   "Eighty   and   six   years   have    I    served    Him,  and 


RUINS  OF  THE  TEMPLE  OF  DIANA 

lie  has  never  done  me  wrong;  how,  then,  can  I  blas- 
pheme my  King  that  saved  me?"  So  the  old  hero  met  his 
death ;  and  his  grave,  plainly  distinguishable  from  the  bay 
by  the  tall  trees  bcsitle  it,  is  on  the  high  hill  overlooking 
the  cit\'. 

The  ()tt()inaii  railua\'  iiins  from  Snniiialu  l-,phesus,  .iiid 
is  a  comfoitabU'  mad,  witli  good  C()m|)aitnK'nt  cars.  We 
went  along  a  \'allc\',  where  we  were  assured  ilu'  load  must 
have  gone  from  time  ininiemori.d,  and  wi-re  cert.iin  that  the 
feet  of  apostles  had  oftrn  trod  il.  I  lir  spiing  was  bcaiilifiil; 
fruit-trees  were  white  with  bloom;  farmers  were  in  their 
fields;    caravans    were   moving;     life    in    all    the   \ividness    and 


iiS 


rm:  old  would  in    ini'.  m:w  ci'.n'itrv 


variotN'  oi   the    C^riciit  u  .is   about    us   on    c\'cr\'    sitlc;   and  \vc 
were  h.ii)[n'  and  alert  for  all  that  was  to  hi-  seen. 

One  nia\'  see  quickK'  w  h.it  theie  is  to  see  in  I'.phesus.  He 

nia\-  hire   a  horse  or  donke)-  at   the  station  t(^   ride  out  to  the 

ruins  ot    the  tlieater  antl    the  temple,  and    this   he  should  not 
fail   to  do.      The  walk  is   not  loni;",  but    is  fatiguing  by  reason 

of   the   heat.      There   he   uku'   see  what    now    remains   of  the 


THE    GATE   OF    PERSECUTION 


temple  which  was  one  of  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world,  and 
of  the  theater  in  which  the  crowd  raved  against  Paul,  shout- 
ing, "Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians!"  Both  Diana  and 
Paul  are  forgotten  here  now,  and  the  city  is  in  ruins.  But  the 
ruins  are  more  eloquent  of  the  past  than  are  those  of  ancient 
cities  builded  over  with  modern  villages,  wMtii  all  their  filth, 
or  with  tawdry  shrines  that  seek  to  glorify  the  past  through 
superstition. 

John    wrote   to    the    Church    at    Ephesus    that    unless    it 
repented,  its  candlestick  would   be   removed    from    its   place. 


SMYRNA    AM)    EPHESUS 


119 


The  removal  of  the  h'ght  has  long  since  taken  place.  From 
the  ruins  of  its  splendid  past  I  bought  a  little  clay  lamp  which 
may  have  been  there  when  John  wrote,  but  for  centuries  it 
has  seen  no  oil  or  wick.  So,  also,  has  gone  out  the  religious 
light  of  Ephesus. 

The  old  "Church  of  St.  John"  still  stands  in  Ephesus  in 
a  partly  ruined  condition.  It  has  been  a  mosque,  but  some 
part  of  it  may  once  have  been  a  church.      The  Roman  "Gate 


Ik 
/ 

/■ 

^fI 

Mi 

f 

^ 

J 

m 

i 

m 

w 

■Tk'-    -^ 

■'l?l"Jm. 

" 

'-'^•, 

»         nr^-- 

^>  tPB^'^^^ 

'^  >Tv«Jo"^. 

CHURCH   OF   ST.   JOHN,    KI'HESUS 

of  Persecution,"  where  Christians  are  supposed  to  have  suf- 
fered martyrdom,  is  also  standing,  and  the  tourist  passes 
under  its  arch. 

Many  of  the  relics  offered  for  sale  at  Ephesus  are  spuri- 
ous, anti  the  government  forbids  the  exportation  of  any  other 
sort.  Ikit  it  is  j^ossible  to  secure  some  small  ami  manifestly- 
genuine  souvenirs.  I  ha\c  a  fragment  from  the  carved  capital 
of  a  fine  column,  and  also  the  feet  of  a  marble  statue,  appar- 
ently female,  and  very  likely  from  some  of  the  countless 
images  of  the  goddess  Diana,  which  once  abounded  there.  I 
should    be  glad    to  know  that    they  belonged    to    the   original 


I20  nii;    OLD    WOULD    IN     1111      M.W    (."I'.NirRY 

ini.i;^o  that  tell  down  tioin  lu'axon,  ami  1  iloiiht  not  tlu"  man 
who  S(^K1  it  to  nu-  would  ha\c  ccrtifu'd  that  ho  saw  it  tail  if  I 
had  paiel  him  an  extra  shilling. 

The  American  Board  lias  a  magnificent  mission  at  Smyrna, 
and  the  Christian  I^ndeavorers  su]-)port  a  missionary  in  con- 
nection witii  this  work.  When  we  were  leaving,  three  boat- 
loads of  girls  came  out  from  this  mission  school  and  sang  their 
parting  songs  to  us.  The)-  were  a  tine  company,  and  their 
bright,  refined  faces  were  a  better  argument  for  missionary 
work  than  a  thousand  sermons.  A  crowd  of  boys  had  been 
out  frcMii  the  mission  earlier  in  the  da}',  and  had  gone  through 
the  ship  with  great  eagerness,  but  these  had  gone  back  before 
we  returned  from  Ephesus. 

So  we  weighed  anchor,  and  left  .Smyrna  bcdiind,  and  next 
day  we  saw  Patmos,  where  John  wrote  the  A])ocalypse.  And 
now  a  feeling  of  regret  began  to  mingle  with  our  anticipation; 
we  were  about  to  scatter  in  Palestine  and  Egypt.  Not  for 
three  weeks,  and  then  only  for  a  day  or  two,  were  we  to  be 
together  on  the  ship  again.  Hut  we  had  need  of  all  our  time 
for  repacking  and  preparation  for  the  most  important  part  of 
our  journey. 


CHAPTER  IX 

FIRST    IMPRESSIONS    OF    THE    HOLY    LAND 

The  dying  moon  hung  low  over  Mount  C.uniel  when  our 
ship  dropped  anchor  in  the  Bay  of  Acre,  and  I  looked  for 
the  first  time  on  the  Holy  Land.  A  bright  morning  star  was 
close  to  the  moon.  The  two  were  the  veritable  symbol  of 
Turkey,  hanging  like  a  sickle  over  the  land  of  the  l^ible.  I 
reflected  with  satisfaction  that  it  was  the  old  and  not  the  new 
moon;  that  the  power  of  the  Turk  wanes  and  does  not  \\ax. 
]h\t  Turkey  has  been  an  anesthetic  to  this  land,  and  has  pre- 
served some  customs  and  memorials  that  must  else  have 
perished.  Progress  is  the  foe  of  ancient  relics;  and  it  is  relics 
which  one  seeks  in  Palestine. 

W'e  entered  Palestine  by  an  unusual  way,  landing  at  Haifa 
instead  of  Jaffa.  I  wonder  that  more  people  do  not  do  so. 
It  gave  us  a  most  exhilarating  impression  of  Palestine.  We 
were  taken  off  the  ship  in  large  row-boats,  in  which  swarthy 
boatmen  pulled  hard  at  the  long  oars  to  a  quaint  minor  tune, 
which  I  heard  later  in  other  parts  of  Palestine.  The  theme 
is  sung  by  the  stroke  oar,  and  repeated  b\'  the  others.  Kach 
line  had  one  pronounced  accent  for  the  stroke.  On  the  rudder 
squatted  a  tin}-  lad  who  guidc-d  the  boat  skilfully,  and  begged 
for  bakshish.  lie  was  a  remarkably  agile  little  fellow,  and 
though  we  filled  the  thwarts  and  our  baggage  the  bottom  of 
the  boat,  he  wriggled  through  under  us  and  between  our  feet, 
and  bobbed  up  serenely  with  extended  fez.  1  abetted  him 
to  the  extent  of  holding  the  helm  while  he  was  making  his 
collections. 

The  I'>ay  of  Acre  did  not  bi;long  to  the  Jews,  l)ut  to  the 
Phonicians,  u  lu)  near  here  are  said  to  have  discovered  the 
ait  of  making  glass.  It  is  (piitc  possible  that  ihc  tcar-bottles 
which    some  of    oui"  ])art\-  were    able  to    secure   lici cilioiit    arc 

121 


I  J  J 


•nil',    OLD    WUKLD    IN     1I11-.    Ni:\\'    C  I'.NTl' R  V 


spccinuMis  oi  this  ancient  woil^  ol  the  nation  so  closely  related 
to  the  Jews  in  ancestrw  antl  so  ilitleiiMit  from  them  in  reliL;"ion 
and  in  theii-  intluence  on  the  woiKl.  This  i)a)-  has  a  distinct 
place  in  ancient  history,  comj)arati\el\'  nnlamiliar  to  ns  because 
liible  histc^ry  deals  so  little  with  the  sea.  In  the  lime  of  the 
Crusades,  this  harbor  .md  the  fortress  towaiil  its  northern 
end   became    famous.      In    1104    Baldwin     1.    who    had    been 

crowneil  Christian  king  of  Je- 
rusalem in  the  Church  of  the 
Nativity  in  J^ethlehem  on 
Christmas  Day,  iioi,  cai)tured 
v\cre;  and  here  the  Crusaders 
held  their  ground  after  they 
IkuI  been  driven  from  Jerusa- 
lem. It  was  the  last  home  of 
the  Knights  of  St.  John  before 
they  left  Palestine  on  that  series 
oi  wanderings  from  island  to 
island  that  ended  in  their  es- 
tablishment at  Malta.  The  old 
Christian  fortifications  still 
stand,  and  the  castle  is  used  as 
a  i)rison  by  the  sultan. 

Acre  is  a  poor  village  now, 
and  the  commercial  interests 
Haifa  is  a  thriving  town  with  a 
good  wharf,  built  or  extensively  repaired  for  the  Emperor 
William.  It  used  to  be  asked,  "What  shall  he  do  who  comes 
after  the  king?"  It  was  assumed  that  he  who  came  after  the 
king  had  a  hard  time  of  it ;  but  we  were  grateful  whenever  in 
Palestine  we  found  ourselves  camping  on  the  trail  of  the 
Emperor  William,  because  of  the  improved  condition  of  the 
roads. 

There  were  two  hundred  of  us  who  disembarked  at  Haifa. 
The  other  six  hundred  jjassengers,  who  went  direct  to  Jaffa 
and  Jerusalem,  can  hardly  know  how  much  they  missed  in 
Galilee. 


OUR   SMALL    PILOT 


of  the  region  center  at  Haifa 


FIRST   IMPRESSIONS   OF    THE    HOLY    LAND 


1^3 


Nothing  is  done  promptly  where  Oriental  officials  are  con- 
cerned, and  our  baggage  must  needs  pass  the  custom-house; 
but  no  piece  was  opened  so  far  as  I  saw.  It  is  usually  pos- 
sible to  avoid  delay  by  making,  through  the  official  in  charge, 
a  contribution  to  his  favorite  Turkish  charity.  Turkish 
charities  are  numerous,  and  the  sultan  himself  is  chief  among 
them. 

When  we  emerged   from  the   crowd   that  gathered   on   the 


THE  BEAUTIFUL  HARBOR  OF  HAIFA 


quay  I  first  learned  how  a  dragoman  looks.  The  word 
sounds  very  formidable,  and  I  had  wondered  many  times  just 
what  a  dragoman  was  like.  The  sight  was  full}-  up  to  my 
expectations.  lie  who  extricated  me  from  the  struggling 
mass  of  humanity,  and  piloted  me  through  the  custom-house 
with  the  simple  word  of  explanation,  "I  am  your  dragoman, " 
seemed  from  tlu,'  outset  to  justify  all  jiossible  confidence  in 
himself.  C)ui'  ]Mit}-  had  all  <if  tin-  best  dragonuMi  in  I'ak'stiue, 
so  we  were  told  ;igain  and  again,  and  1  think  it  was  probably 
true.  There  was  Joseph  the  eloquent,  a  (juaker  preacher, 
who  was  often  mo\ed  to  tell  us  in  detail  about  the  regions 
visited,    and    wJiose    European    overcoat    and    boots   seemed 


'-4 


Till-.    0\.\)    \\OK\.\)    IN     1111      m:\\     LKNURV 


siitTicioiitK'  (Oriental  in  \ii'\\  of  his  K-atlicr  \\lii|)  .iml  Ills 
Hedouiii  lu\i(l-tlrcss.  I'licrc  was  Salch  the  L^iaiit.  whoso 
special  forte  it  is  to  pick  a  lacK-  up  Ixnlily  and  phice  her  in 
her  saddle.  Not  all  the  ladies  in  our  party  were  ethereal,  yet 
not    e\en  the    stoutest    troid)led    him   in    the    least.       He  wore 


JOSEPH    THE    KL()()UKi\T 


Turkish  trousers,  containinf^  I  know  not  how  many  yards, 
the  fullness  of  which  in  the  seat  reached  his  ankles;  and 
besides  his  hea\-y,  brass-mounted  whip,  he  carried  a  cartridge- 
belt  and  sword.  All,  I  believe,  carried  revolvers.  There 
were  George  ami  I'liilip,  brothers,  both  courteous  and  effi- 
cient, George  being  so  small  beside  Saleh  that  the  two  were 
commonly  spoken  of  as  David  and  Goliath.  There  was 
Elijah,  the  youngest  of  the  company,  whose  father  o)vns  a 
soap  factory  in  Jaffa.      Last,  but  not  least,  there  was  .Shukrey. 


FIRST    IMPRESSIONS   OF   THE    HOLY    LAND 


25 


It  is  no  desire  to  disparage  tlie  rest  that  leads  me  to  say  a 
special  word  concerning  Sliukrey.  His  responsibilities  were 
far  larger  than  those  of  the  other  dragomen,  thongh  they 
were  less  spectacular,  for  he  and  his  father,  Jacob  Hishmeh, 
had  charjje  of  all  the  arranijements  for  our  board  and  lodging. 


SALKII    'llli:    CIANT 


A  more  efficient,  courteous,  IxiiidduMrted,  and  competent 
dragoman  tliere  could  h.irdl\-  be  than  Sliukrey.  He  is  a 
Christian  gentleman,  and  I  coumu-nd  liiui  without  ieser\'ation 
to  anyone  necdin;^  ins  ser\'ices.  ilis  addiess  is  Jerusalem, 
where  he  has  a  veritable  Christian  home  and  .1  fanulx-  whiih, 
contrasted  with  the  families  of  the  pt'opU'  about  him  in  Ji-ru- 
salcm,  is  in  itself  an  e\'i(lence  of  ("hristianit\-. 

Quite   as  imposing  as  any  of   these  in  his  appearance,  was 
the    chief    mideteer,    a    little,    fat,    eldcrlx-     uiau,    with    great 


126 


OLD    WOK  ID    IN    nil      M.W     elATDRY 


brcadtli   ot    Douscrs,  who,  mounted    on   liis   donki'X',    was   the 
picture  of  the  typical  AiaU  sheik. 

1  ch\l  ii(it  lH'L;iii  this  list  w  itli  intent  to  advertise  an}'  of  these 
men.  hut  since  I  ha\-e  bei;iin.  1  may  make  tj^rateful  mention 
of  our  cnereetic  and  able  I'alestini' conductor,  Mr.  Herbert  E. 


UK    HAD    ALL   THE   BEST    DRAGOMEN 


Clark,  United  States  Vice-Consul  for  Jerusalem,  and  brother  of 
our  courteous  organizer,  Mr.  Frank  C.  Clark  of  New  York;  also 
of  our  able  Palestine  manager,  Mr.  J.  E.  M.  Solomon,  and  his 
faithful  assistants,  Messrs.  C.  Hillier  and  Hermann  Hornstein. 
We  were  loaded  into  carriages  at  Haifa,  and  started  for 
Nazareth.  For  several  miles  our  route  lay  alongside  the 
uncompleted  railroad.  This  road  has  ties  and  rails  for  several 
miles,  and  is  graded  much  farther,  but  the  work  has  come  to 
an  abrupt  end   by  reason  of  the  hostility  of  the  sultan.      We 


FIRST    IMPRESSIONS   OF   THE    HOLY    LAND  127 

crossed  the  Kishon  on  a  bridge  which  lias  been  constructed 
for  the  railway.  In  places  we  saw  caravans  of  camels  picking 
their  way  among  the  ties  as  they  started  on  their  long  journey 
to  Damascus;  hitched  one  behind  another  and  preceded  by  a 
donkey,  they  bore  a  grotesque  resemblance  to  a  train  of  cars. 


THK    CHIi;  !•    MULETEER 


The  camel  on  the  railroad  is  an  anachronism.  There  is 
something  so  absurd  as  to  be  almost  weird  in  the  sight  of  these 
ancient  beasts  of  burden  leaving  the  rough  highways  of  Pales- 
tine to  utilize  for  a  little  time  the  railroad  that  some  day  may 
make  their  long  journcx-  superfluous. 

Not  with  camels,  but  with  carriages,  with  tmir  passengers 
and  luggage  in  each,  we  began  oui'  jc^unicy  tow.iid  Xa/.irclh 
across  the  Kishon,  which  once  ran  red  with  the  l)I()()(l  of  the 
])rii])hcts  of  l)aal.  Wc  skirted  Mount  (aiincl,  where  Mlijah 
fought    his    terrible    battle    for    purity   of  worship,  and    forced 


i^S  rill-:  Di.n  woia.D  i\    rni'.  nkw  ci:n  rim' 

upon  the  iioo])le  of  Israel  tlu-ir  choice  between  the  historical 
worship  of  the  (lod  of  Israel  .iiul  the  iie\\l\-  iiupoited  idolatry 
from  Ix  re.  We  crossed  the  x'alley  where  Sisera's  hosts  met 
their  o\er\\  helmiiii;  tlefeat.  We  skirted  the  plain  of  I'Lsdrae- 
lon.  with  its  scores  of  historic  battle-fields,  perhaps  the 
bloodiest  field  on  earth,  where  Harak  and  Gideon  won  their 
superb  victories,  and  where  Saul  and  Josiah  met  defeat  and 
death.  Here  the  Maccabees  fought  their  splendid  battles  for 
freetlom  of  worship;  here  the  Crusaders  met  their  final  repulse; 
and  here  Napoleon  drew  up  his  legions  against  the  might  and 
pride  of  the  Turk.  Behind  us  and  on  the  right,  we  left 
Mount  Carmel ;  before  us,  and  still  to  the  right,  were  Gilboa, 
where  Saul  and  Jonathan  died,  and  Tabor,  on  whose  rounded 
summit  many  believe  the  transfiguration  to  have  occurred. 
To  the  left,  as  we  rode  on,  we  had  fitful  views  of  snowy  Mount 
Hermon.  The  air  was  fresh  and  clear.  The  day  was  perfect 
as  that  when  the  green  earth  first  appeared  to  man  in  I'Lden. 
We  left  the  palms  behind  on  the  coast  plain,  antl  the  oaks  on 
the  hill  of  Harosheth;  we  were  now  in  the  land  of  the  fig  and 
the  olive,  and  except  for  these,  few  trees  appeared.  W^e  were  on 
the  great  highw^ay  which,  for  uncounted  centuries,  has  been 
the  thoroughfare  from  Damascus  to  the  sea. 

We  were  soon  interested  in  our  driver.  Silah  was  his 
name,  and  I  believe  it  means  "the  righteous."  Most  names 
are  misnomers;  but  Silah's  was  well  bestowed.  He  began  to 
prove  his  right  to  it  while  we  waited  by  stealing  a  string  of 
blue  beads  from  a  team  near  by,  and  fastening  them  around 
the  neck  of  one  of  his  horses  These  beads  avert  the  evil 
eye  and  bring  good  luck.  From  another  carriage  he  stole  an 
American  flag,  not  without  a  struggle  with  the  driver.  With 
these  two  symbols  of  good  luck  in  his  possession,  he  gave  his 
horses  free  rein.  He  had  three  horses  hitched  abreast,  and 
drove  like  Jehu.  Wherever  the  road  widened  a  little  he 
turned  out,  his  horses  racing  like  those  of  Ben  II ur,  and  he 
never  failed  to  pass  a  carriage  when  he  attempted  it.  Slowly 
we  crept  up  frojn  the  rear  of  the  procession  to  the  very  front, 
and  when  we  stopped  to  rest,  we  were  surrounded  by  a  crowd 


FIRST   IMPRESSIONS   OF   THE    HOLY    LAND 


I  29 


of  vociferous  teamsters  wildly  denouncing  Silah.  Joseph,  the 
dragoman,  appeared  as  arbiter  in  the  matter,  and  decided  it 
justly.  Silah's  carriage  must  be  in  the  lead,  because  the 
dragoman  himself  must  ride  in  the  front,  and  he  had  selected 
this  as  his  carriage.  It  was  plainly  an  ex  post  facto  decision, 
but  there  was  no  appeal.  So  he  sent  the  drivers  back  with 
threats  of  his  whip,  and 
climbed  up  beside  Silah. 
"Unto  him  that  hath  shall 
be  given."  Silah  sat  silent 
during  the  controversy 
which  he  had  provoked. 
His  face  was  a  study  as  he 
waited  the  dragoman's  de- 
cision. The  look  on  his 
face  was  not  contrition. 
As  for  myself,  I  had  no 
choice  but  to  share  in  the 
well-won  success  of  Silah. 

Success  affects  men  dif- 
ferently. When  Silah  found 
himself  at  the  head  of  the 
caravan  he  sang.  The  air 
was  most  lugubrious,  and 
I  wondered  what  the  words 
were.     Joseph  informed  me 

that  the  song  was  made  on  a  familiar  model  and  in  four  stan- 
zas. In  this  song  Silah  complained  that  his  loved  one  had 
married  another,  and  declared  that  he  would  don  a  robe 
of  mourning  and  live  single  forever.  He  further  declared 
that  his  grief  knew  no  bounds,  antl  that  his  tears  made  a  river 
that  would  turn  a  mill.  This  was  the  way  success  affected 
Silah. 

We  were  climbing  a  long  hill  alxmt  half-past  eleven,  and 
saw  an  Arab  standing  like  a  statue  in  the  road  ahead.  He 
was  clad  in  a  long  blue  tunic,  wore  a  white  turban,  and  stood 
as   though    lie    Ivid    been  waiting   for   a   ct'ntiiry.  and  was   not 


Till-:    GALILEE    LIGHTNING    EXPRESS 


13<^  THK    OLD    \V0R1.1>    IN     1111.    M  W     C  INllKN 

tircil.       loscph  spoke  to  liini    in  Ar;il)ic,  ;iiul  ho  answcrctl  in  a 
single  woihI.  and  \\c  l)orc  to  llu-  left   up  the  liill. 

"When  \-ou  see  a  fellow  like  that,"  said  Joseph,  "then 
you  know  that  lunch  is  near." 

We  were  soon  at  the  pkice,  and  fouml  our  lunch  spread 
out  on  long  Oriental  rugs;  a  tin  plate  and  cup  for  each  of  us. 
There  were  cold  chick-en  and  mutton,  rolls,  boiled  eggs,  nuts 
and  honey,  and  I  forget  what  else;  but  every  meal,  morning, 
noon  and  night,  we  had  oranges.  No  one  can  realize  what 
a  blessing  they  are  to  tlie  tourist  in  Palestine. 

In  general  cnir  meals  were  good,  surprisingly  good,  when 
it  is  remembered  that  almost  everything  we  ate  had  to  be 
carried  along  on  mules.  We  had  butter  only  once  a  day,  and 
that  at  dinner,  which  seemed  odd;  and  our  breakfasts  w^ere 
jilain.  for  more  than  one  reason,  chief  .among  which  was  the 
importance  of  getting  away  early.  We  had  four  o'clock  tea 
in  camp  when  we  arrived  in  time  for  it,  and  a  good,  hearty 
dinner  at  6:  30.  W'e  seldom  had  shade  or  grass  at  our  lunch- 
eons. The  rugs  were  spread  usually  under  olive-trees;  but 
the  olive  leaf  is  small,  and  the  tree  gives  less  shade  than  one 
would  expect,  and  the  ground  underneath  is  generally  culti- 
vated. The  water  was  served  from  porous  jars  that  cooled 
by  evaporation,  and  all  our  camp  drinking-water  had  been 
boiled  for  us.  Those  wdio  chose  brought  along  their  own 
supply  of  bottled  w-ater.  This  involves  some  expense  for  a 
mule  or  donkey  to  carry  the  water,  but  those  who  spent 
money  in  this  way  were  well   satisfied  with  their  expenditure. 

"Harosheth  of  the  Gentiles"  was  the  scene  of  this  jubilant 
picnic  lunch,  our  first  in  Palestine.  Harosheth  is  the  place 
where  the  defeated  Sisera  w^ent  to  rest  in  the  tent  of  Heber. 
While  Sisera  slept,  Jael,  Hebcr's  wife,  killed  him  with  a  tent- 
pin.  It  was  an  act  of  Oriental  treachery,  but  much  lauded 
because  of  Sisera's  hostility  to  Israel  in  those  troublesome 
times. 

Harosheth  means  forest,  and  oak-trees  are  there  in  some- 
thing approaching  abundance.  The  shade  of  the  trees  was 
grateful   to  us   at   lunch    time,  and  we   remembered   it   pleas- 


FIRST   IMPRESSIONS   OF   THE    HOLY    LAND 


131 


antly    afterward,     for    we     saw    few    oak-trees    elsewhere     in 
Palestine. 

Travelers    have    given    us    quite    too    dreary    a   picture    of 
Palestine.      At  least  so  it  seemed  to  us  as  we  drove  across  the 


SILAH    STEALINf;   THK    FF.AG 


great  plain  of  Esdraelon.  Tlu-  beauty  of  thr  place  charmed 
us  beyond  expression.  Ahead  of  us  stootl  Mount  Tahor;  to 
our  right  loometl  C'armei  ;  and  (av  to  the  northward,  its  hoary 
summit  visible  across  a  Inindrrd  interx'cning  hills,  stood  out 
Mount  Ilermon  in  its  eternal  crown  of  snow.  It  was  beauti- 
ful bex'ond  all  f)ur  anticipation,  and  more  so  because  of  its 
sacrcil  associations. 


I,:;-'  1111.    1)1,1)    WOivl.l)    IN     rill'.    M.W     CI':NTI'RV 

Tlic  wiKl  tlowors  arc  alnuulant  in  all  i)arts  of  Galilee. 
'Vhcv  ilo  not  ^row  rank  ami  tall,  hut  llowcr  within  a  few 
inches  oi  the  i;rouncl.  ami  the  ci)lors  arc-  unexpectedly  bright. 
There  are  \-ello\v  chr\-santhenuinis  and  bright  red  poppies,  the 
hitter  so  numerous  that  sometimes  a  slope  is  fairly  red  with 
them.  The  poppx-anennMie  is  belie\-ed  to  ha\'e  been  "the  lily 
of  the  field"  of  which  Christ  spoke,  and  it  makes  the  liillsides 
of  Galilee  i;iow  with  its  bright  scarlet. 

Palestine  flower-seeds  may  be  purchased  in  Jerusalem,  and 
thev  erow  and  blossom  in  America.  Both  the  "lily  of  the 
field"  and  the  chrysanthemum,  grown  from  seed  which  I 
prcKuired    in  Palestine,  are  now^  blooming   in  my  own   garden. 

The  history  of  nations  is  profoundly  influenced  by  the 
physical  features  of  the  land  which  they  inhabit.  America  is 
great  in  part  because  it  has  a  great  and  varied  territory,  with 
ample  room  for  migration,  and  convenient  means  of  inter- 
communication between  districts  wildly  diversified  in  soil  and 
climate.  England  is  great  in  large  degree  because  of  her  coal 
and  her  coast.  Greece  became  what  she  was  commercially 
because  of  her  islands  and  her  harbors.  Switzerland  is 
explained  in  part  by  its  position,  isolated  as  it  is,  yet  in  the 
very  center  of  Europe,  a  little  mountain  democracy  in  the 
midst  of  great  monarchies. 

l*alestine  is  of  interest  because  the  land  itself  bears  the 
closest  possible  relation  to  the  scenes  which  were  there 
enacted.  The  physical  features  of  the  Holy  Land,  its  moun- 
tains and  valleys,  are  referred  to  again  and  again  in  Scripture. 
"The  Land  and  the  Book"  belong  together.  Palestine  has 
been  called,  and  justly  so,  "a  fifth  gospel." 

What  were  the  physical  features  of  Palestine  which  fitted 
its  people  to  bear  their  wonderful  share  in  human  history?  A 
concise  answer  is  given  by  Professor  Cornill  in  the  opening 
chapter  of  his  "History  of  the  People  of  Israel." 

The  land  in  whicli  the  chief  part  of  the  history  of  Israel  was  played, 
and  which  this  people  regarded  as  its  own,  is  called  by  us  with  a  Grasco- 
Roman  designation,  Palestine,  that  is,  the  Land  of  the  Philistines.  The 
Greeks  entered  the  country  by  way  (jf  the  coast,  and  gave  to  it  the  name  of 


FIRST   IMPRESSIONS   OF   THE    HOLY    LAND 


133 


the  tribe  that  dwelt  there,  a  phenomenon  that  we  shall  observe  frequently. 
The  inhabitants  themselves  called  it  Kenaan.  As  this  name  means,  etymo- 
logically,  "lowland,"  it  must  originally  have  been  applied  only  to  the  Phil- 
isto-Phcenician  coast  strip.     The   land  occupied  by  the    Israelites,   on  the 


MAI'    OF    I-ALKSTINI-: 


contrary,  is  altogether  mountainous,  and  has  a  consideral)ic  lnwland  (uily  in 
tlie  plain  of  Jezrcel.  Tliis  fact  is  in  accord  with  the  rejiurt  of  ilic  I'hoiii- 
ciaiis,  that  they  descended  from  a  tribal  priigenitnr,  Chna,  in  wliici)  name 
we  recognize  immediately  llie  stem  of  Ken.ian.  In  Israelitish  times,  how- 
ever, only  the  portion  of  the  land  situated  west  of  the  Jordan  is  known  as 
Kenaan  ;  the  land  on  the  east  i>f  the  Jordan  has  the  separate  name,  (lilead. 
What  we  now  call  Palestine,  the  land  on  both  si<ies  of  the  Jordan,  is  a  com- 
paratively   small    liit    of     earth,   only   abmit    ei^hl    llious.ind     tivr    lunidrrd 


134         'ini'.  iM  i>  woKi  i)  IN    rill',  m:w  ci'.nih  kv 

siiuare  miles  in  i-xtcut,  that  is,  ,i  litlU'  move  th;m  tlu'  area  of  MassacluisoUs, 
or  of  Wales  and  Herefordshire. 

Hvdrographicallv  tlie  land  is  very  seaiuiU  eiulnwi-d.  ( )l  ri\  its,  it  has 
the  Jordan  alone,  wiili  its  trilnitaries,  liie  most  imiunuml  ol  whicli,  iiowever, 
are  all  on  the  east  siile:  the  \'armuk,  the  |al)l)ok,  ami  llie  Arnon,  which 
latter  empties  not  into  tlie  Jordan  proper,  Init  into  the  Dead  Sea.  The  land 
west  of  the  Ionian  can  lioast  really  of  no  rivers  sa\  r  ihc  Kishon  in  the  [ilain 
of  lezreel  ;  Init  in  the  hottest  part  of  the  season  this  is  a  slight  rivnlet,  and 
beijins  to  be  a  considerable  river  only  a  few  miles  aliove  its  entrance  into 
the  Mediterranean  Sea  at  Haifa. 

The  fertilitv  of  Palestine  is  dependent  exclusively  on  tlu'  rain  which 
falls  in  winter,  and  on  the  dew  of  summer,  wherefore  it  is  more  clearly  and 
more  perceptibly  than  in  other  lands  a  l^lessing  from  above,  a  gift  of  heaven, 
so  that  the  eye  of  man  was  here  directed  upward,  toward  heaven,  by  nature 
herself.  The  Jordan,  the  sole  river  of  Palestine,  called  to-day  "esch  Scheriat 
el  Kebire,"  the  (^reat  River,  lias  not  its  like  on  eartli  ;  instead  of  uniting 
the  adjacent  lands  and  shores  like  other  rivers,  the  Jt)rdan  separates  them 
as  an  almost  impassable  barrier,  since  its  extraordinary  fall  and  its  winding 
and  twisting  course  make  navigation  on  it  impossible.  Of  moderately  con- 
venient and  always  available  fords,  it  has  only  three  between  the  Lake  of 
Gennesaret  and  the  Dead  Sea.  Thus  it  comes  about  that  we  are  obliged  to 
consider  the  land  east  of  the  Jordan  and  that  west  of  the  Jordan  as  two 
really  distinct  lands  without  connection  with  each  other. 

The  Jordan  plain,  called  to-day  "el  Ghor,"  is  almost  entirely  uninhabit- 
able, in  summer  on  account  of  the  tropical  heat,  in  winter  on  account  of 
the  floods;  it  was  and  is  still  a  notorious  resort  antl  liiding-place  for  all  pos- 
sible beasts.  The  southern  part  of  the  country,  too,  the  regions  aliout  the 
Dead  Sea  and  the  so-called  mountains  or  wilderness  of  Judah,  are  sparsely 
populated,  and  capable  of  sustaining  only  a  scant  population.  In  ancient 
times,  as  well,  it  must  have  been  much  as  it  is  to-day,  since  natural  condi- 
tions have  not  changed.  The  country  east  of  the  Jordan  is  but  a  narrow 
strip  of  tillable  land  wedged  in  between  the  valley  of  the  Jordan  and  the 
vast  Syro-Arabian  desert.  Only  in  its  middle  and  northern  portions  is  the 
land  really  fertile  and  adequate  for  a  considerable  population,  and  this 
especially  on  the  slope  toward  the  Mediterranean  coast,  the  lowlands  of 
Sharon  and  Shephela,  which  Israel  never  succeeded  in  occupying. 

But  upon  this  narrow  and  limited  soil  our  astonished  eyes  meet  an 
infinite  variety  and  diversity  of  details.  Palestine  deserves  the  name  of 
the  land  of  contrasts;  here  is  found  gathered  together  everything  between  a 
sub-tropical  climate  and  the  region  of  eternal  snow.  The  mighty  moun- 
tain peak  of  Hermon,  whicli  forms  the  northern  l)t)iindary  of  the  country, 
is  covered  with  perpetual  snow,  and  rises  to  an  altitude  of  over  nine  thou- 
sand feet,  some  three  thousand  feet  more  than  Mt.  Washington,  or  more 
than  twice  the  height  of  Ben  Nevis.  There  we  have  Alpine  landscape 
and  Alpine  flora.  The  mountain  region  of  Galilee,  the  most  healthy  por- 
tion of  Palestine,  has  the  most  moderate  climate;  the  southern  portions, 
especially  the  plain  of  Jezreel  and  the  seacoast,  have  a  warm  climate;  and 
in  the  valley  of  the  Jordan  and  about  the  Dead  Sea  it  is  actually  sub-tropi- 


FIRST   IMPRESSIONS   OF   THE    HOLY    LAND  i.S5 

cal.  In  Ghor  a  temperature  of  109 "-^  F.  has  been  observed  in  the  shade  in 
the  month  of  May,  and  along  the  Dead  Sea,  even  after  sunset,  when  in 
other  southern  lands  a  sudden  coolness  usually  sets  in,  the  thermometer 
has  recorded  95°  F. 

And  accordingly  the  vegetation  here  is  sub-tropical;  tlie  balsam  used 
to  thrive  here,  and  the  palm  still  does,  wherefore  Jericho  was  formerly  called 
the  City  of  Palms.  On  account  of  these  great  climatic  extremes  the  flora 
of  Palestine  in  general  is  exceedingly  rich;  some  two  thousand  species  of 
flowers  have  been  noted.  It  is  easy  to  understand  how  this  natural  wealth 
of  nature  about  him  must  arouse  and  inspire  the  mind  and  soul  of  man. 

But  as  a  whole,  also,  Palestine  is  a  land  of  contrasts,  and  this  in  a  man- 
ner that  must  be  regarded  as  providential.  In  the  first  place,  the  land  is 
almost  entirely  shut  off  from  the  world  outside.  On  the  east  and  south  it 
is  bordered  by  the  desert,  like  a  perfect  insulating  medium;  and  on  the  west 
by  the  surging  Mediterranean,  offering  no  good  harbor  on  the  whole  coast 
of  Palestine  ito  this  day  a  calamity  for  travelers  to  the  Holy  Landj,  besides 
being  almost  unnavigable  by  the  ships  of  the  ancients  because  of  the 
strong  blasts  of  the  trade-winds.  Only  on  the  north  is  the  land  accessible, 
though  one  cannot  say  open,  for  here  the  two  great  parallel  Alpine  chains 
of  Lebanon  and  Anti-Libaiuis  reach  across  like  a  natural  bar.  This  same 
reserve  which  the  land  shows  outwardly  is  manifest  within  as  well. 
Almost  everywhere  are  mountains  with  deep,  abrupt  gorges,  which  con- 
stitute a  great  obstacle  to  intercourse  and  make  travel  extremely  weari- 
some and  slow. 

This  is  providential.  For  this  isolation  guaranteed  to  the  inhabitants 
the  undisturbed  development  of  their  individLiality;  they  were  exempt  from 
the  influence  of  the  great  leveler,  commerce. 

Mountaineers  are  everywhere  men  of  strongly  developed  individuality. 
But  there  is  another  side  to  the  matter.  It  is  true  that  the  genuine  moun- 
taineer is  vigorous  and  upright,  but  he  is  also  clumsy  and  stubborn, 
revolving  complacently  ab(jut  his  own  axis,  and  distrustful  and  inhospitable 
toward  all  influences  from  without.  From  this  danger  Israel  was  pre- 
served. For  while  the  land  is  insulated,  at  the  same  time  it  is  a  bridge  and 
highway  of  world-commerce  without  a  parallel.  All  the  ancient  highways 
of  commerce  went  through  Palestine.  For  instance,  that  primitive  one 
from  the  Nile  to  the  Euphrates,  which  runs  through  Palestine  in  its  entire 
length,  and  after  crossing  the  Jordan  touches  first  at  Damascus;  and  like- 
wise the  no  less  important  one  from  Tyre  to  the  Arabian  Gulf,  which 
brought  to  the  Phienicians  the  products  of  Arabia,  East  Africa,  Persia,  and 
India.  And  so,  if  I  may  venture  to  use  the  figure,  Israel  was  constantly 
fanned  and  refreshed  by  the  wings  of  world-wide  connnerce,  and  thus  kejit 
fnim  growing  hard  and  sour,  while  its  individuality  ran  no  risk  of  being 
dissolved  in  a  characterless,  nebulous  cosmopolitanism. 

.And  in  still  another  way  this  providential  tendency  to  extremes  is  seen. 
The  land  was  favored  in  many  ways,  but  on  the  other  hand  it  was  full  of 
pests.  In  early  times  wild  beasts,  such  as  the  lion  and  the  bear,  the  wolf 
and  the  panther,  the  jackal  and  tlie  hyena,  must  have  lived  there  in  great 
numbers,  and  even  to  this  day  serjjcnts  are  a   grc;it   pest,  Palestine  h;i\  ing 


1^6 


'rnK  oi.n  woixi.n  in 


ii: 


Ni:\v  cM'.NrrKV 


more  llian  twcnly  species,  anioiii;    them  live  very   dangen-iis   and   poison- 
ous ones. 

Kurtlierniore.  tlie  land  is  fertile:  wheat  of  all  varieties,  grapes,  figs, 
olives  and  pomegranates  thrive  abundantly,  luil  not  without  labor  and  care. 
Of  Talestine  especiallv  the  old  Bible  sentence  is  true:  "  In  the  sweat  of  thy 
face  shalt  tliou  eat  bread."  These  contrasts  are  also  very  important.  There 
was  no  chance  for  the  relaxing  and  enervating  effect  that  comes  when  man 
receives  from  nature  without  exertit)n  all  that  he  needs;  he  was  spurred  and 
forced  to  the  full  exertion  of  his  powers;  but  this  application  was  not  dis- 
couraged by  the  prospective  fruitlessness  of  his  exertions,  a  condition  which 
makes  man  as  stupid  and  indifferent  as  when  everything  falls  into  his  lap 
of  itself;  but  prosperity  was  the  reward  of  toil.  He  ktiew  that  it  paid  to 
exert  his  powers.  A  land,  therefore,  which  seemed  as  if  made  to  produce  a 
physically  and  mentally  sound  race,  that  brought  thither  the  capacity  to 
fulfil  the  mission  assigned  it  by  God.  The  I^oman  historian,  Tacitus,  also, 
in  his  famous  description  of  the  Jewish  people,  dwells  especially  on  the 
exceptional  health,  strength  and  endurance  of  this  race.  And  accordingly 
the  Israelite  has  always  clung  to  his  country  with  sincere  gratitude  and  lov- 
ing loyally;  it  was  to  him  the  paragon  of  countries,  and  he  recognized  the 
gracious  dispensation  of  his  God,  especially  in  the  fact  that  this  precious 
land  had  been  assigned  and  promised  to  him  without  any  merit  and  desert 
of  his  own. 


MOUNT   CARMKL 


CHAPTER  X 

NAZARETH,   THE    BOYHOOD    HOME    OF    JESUS 

Our  first  day's  journey  in  Palestine  brought  us  to  Naza- 
reth. The  village  came  upon  us  suddenly,  but  not  unexpect- 
edly, as  we  rou!uled  a  hill.  Before  us,  upon  an  elevation, 
but  encircled  with  hills,  the  town  nestled  among  green  fields 
and  gray  rocky  slopes.  To  the  right  of  the  village,  as  we 
drew  near,  appeared  the  white  tents  of  our  camp. 

Our  camp  was  the  largest  of  its  kind  and  quite  covered  the 
threshing-floor  of  Nazareth.  We  drove  up  to  it,  all  unused 
to  camp  life,  and  ready  for  new  experiences.  It  was  not  easy 
to  find  our  own  tents.  About  fifty  small  ones  were  pitched 
in  a  double  hollow  square  whose  farther  end  was  closed  by 
the  fourfold  dining-tent,  with  kitchen  tents  behind.  Still 
beyond  were  the  pack-mules  and   donkeys  and  saddle-horses. 

The  camp  was  a  maze.  The  most  absolute  order  pre- 
vailed, but  we  had  always  to  hunt  our  tents.  Each  mule  that 
carried  a  load  of  tents  was  unloaded  as  he  came  in,  and  the 
tents  which  he  carried  were  set  up  at  once.  Except  for  a 
number  in  black  figures  above  the  flap,  and  some  small  Arabic 
designs  for  the  benefit  of  our  camp  servants,  the  tents  were 
precisely  alike  outside.  The  la\-  of  the  land  made  daily 
changes  in  our  camp  formation,  and  c\cn  wlien  the  tent  was 
once  located  it  was  easy  to  mistake  another  for  it.  i^ut  the 
little  mistakes  that  occurred  in  this  way  contributed  to  the 
general  merriment. 

Each  married  couple  had  a  tent.  Single  persons  roomed 
three  in  a  tent.  I  was  particularly  fortunate  in  ni\-  tent- 
mates,  Rev.  Drs.  Josiah  Strong  and  I).  E.  Eoren/..  Two 
more  pleasant  and  helpful  companions  a  man  could  not  desire. 
Tin.'  tents  were  decorated  within  in  rich  OrinUal  patterns  of 
Turkey  red  and  white,  sewed  together  by  tin:  women  of  Cairo. 

'37 


X 
H 
W 
Si 
< 

N 
< 


138 


NAZARETH,  THE    BOYHOOD    HOME    OF   JESUS 


139 


They  were  carpeted  with  rugs,  and  supph"ed  with  light  iron 
cot-beds  and  small  wooden  wash-stands.  The  blankets  were 
comfortable,  but  a  steamer  rug  over  the  foot  of  the  bed  was  an 
additional  protection,  and  on  some  cool  nights  was  needed. 
There  was  always   a  delightful    uncertainty  about   the   linen. 


UUR    (AMI-    AT    NA/ARKTH 


The  camp  servants  designated  oui-  belongings  with  cabalistic 
marks  of  their  own,  whose  accuracy,  we  more  than  suspected, 
did  not  extend  to  towels.  It  certainly  was  intended  that 
every  man  siiould  have  his  own  towel;  but  it  would  have  been 
strange  if  there  had  been  no  changes. 

The  camp  was  guarded  each  night  by  our  own  men. 
Wiien  we  were  in  fiuestionable  places,  the  horses  were  dis- 
tributed  on  all  sides  of  the  camp,  the  muleteers   makini:  thus 


140  nil    01  n  wt'Ui.i)  IN    rill    mw   ci'.xrrKV 

.m  ouicr  L;iKirt.l.  Hositlo  these.  \vc  C(ininu)nly  li.ul  a  local 
^iiaril.  a  sheik-,  ami  a  elo/eii  men.  lUit  this,  I  suspi-ct,  is 
chietlx-  blackmail,  ami  .imounls  to  hiiiiiL;  tlu-  worst  lulluins  of 
the  ncJL^hborhood  not  to  attack  the  camp.  Wliatever  the 
motive,  the  arrangement  works  well,  and  we  slept  secure. 

Nazareth   is  not    mentioned  in    the  Old  Testament   nor  by 
Josephns.  nor   yet    in    the   Tahnud.      It   was   an    unimportant 
villa<;e  in  Christ's  time,  antl  the  early  disciples  wondered  that 
any  L;ood  thing  could  come  from  there.      It  was  not   disrep- 
utable, but  only  obscure.     It  was  not  so  secluded,  however,  as 
is   commonly   sujiposed.      It   was   only   a   little   ofT  the   great 
roads  which   ran  from    north  to   south   across  Galilee  to   Jeru- 
salem and    Egypt,  and  was  near  to  that  which   connected  the 
ancient  city  of  Damascus  w  ith  the  coast.      Located  as  it  is  in 
a  basin  among  the  hills,  and  on  a   slope  not  very  high,  it   has 
within  easy  reach  hilltops  that  afford  some  of  the  finest  views 
in    Palestine.      From    the   Sea   of   Galilee   to   the    Great   Sea, 
where   the   sun    sets,    and    from   the   great    white  summits  of 
Mount  Hermon  across  the  valley  of  Esdraelon,  with  its  fertile 
beauty  and  its  historic  memories,  the  whole  country  is  in  sight 
from   the   hills  just  above   Nazareth.      Thirty  miles   in   every 
direction    one    can   see    clearly.      The   boy    Jesus  must    often 
have  looked  upon  these  scenes  from  the  top  of  the  hill,  which 
was  an  easy  climb  from  Joseph's  shop,  and  his  soul  must  have 
been  stirred  with  their  natural  beauty  and  their  historic  inter- 
est.     Here   he  must   often  have  sat   and  meditated   and  won- 
dered and  aspired.      It  is  written  that  he  increased  in  wisdom 
and   in    stature  and    in    favor  with    God   and    man.      We   are 
accustomed    to   think   of    the    influence   of    the   mountains   in 
developing  strong  character,  and  the  surroundings  of  Nazareth 
afforded    a    ruggedness   combined    with    fertility    that    would 
inspire  strength  and  gentleness;  but   not   every  Galihtan   boy 
had   close    at    hand,    as    Jesus    had,    a   view   of   the   sea,  with 
its  suggestion  of  distance,  and   a   horizon   not  shut  in  by  hill 
or  plain.      Surely   here  was  a  view  to  thrill   his  growing  soul. 
The  roads  in  sight  from  these  hilltops  were  thronged  with 
pilgrims  and  with  caravans,  bringing  the  news  from  every  part 


NAZARETH,  THE    BOYHOOD   HOME    OF   JESUS  H^ 

of  the  Roman  world  within  easy  reach  of  the  growing  Child  of 
Mary.  Nazareth  was  a  good  place  for  Jesus  to  spend  his 
boyhood.  It  was  secluded,  yet  in  the  midst  of  sights  and 
experiences  of  the  most  thrilling  interest. 

Nazareth  is  a  Christian  village.  No  Jews  are  permitted 
to  liv^e  there.  There  is  poverty  and  dirt  enough,  but  never- 
theless it  is  the  pleasantest  village  in   Galilee,      There  and  at 


INTERIOR   OF   TENT 

Bethlehem,  also  a  Christian  town,  one  meets  the   finest  types 
of  men  and  women  to  be  seen  in  Palestine. 

There  is  much  in  Nazareth  that  invites  the  visitor  forth 
sightseeing,  the  first  phicc  usually  visited  being  the  Church  of 
the  Annunciation,  which  was  built  in  its  present  form  in  1730. 
Descending  to  a  vestibule  known  as  the  Angel's  Chai)cl,  and 
passing  between  two  altars,  the  one  to  St.  Joachim  ami  the 
other  to  the  angel  Gabriel,  we  enter  the  chapel  of  the  Annunci- 
ation, whose  altar  bears  the  Latin  words.  "I  lie  veibuni  caro 
factum  est,"  "Here  the  Word  was  made  Hesh."  Here  are 
two  columns,  one  of  them  in  the  lloor  niarl^ing  the  place  where 
the  angel  stood,  and  the  other  suspended  from  the  ceiling  and 


'}• 


THK    OLD    WOKl.n    IN    THE    NKW    CKXTUKY 


said  to  l)c  miracuKnish'  su|)i>i)i-ti.'i,l,  sliowiiiL;  the  spot  wIutc 
.Mar\-  received  the  message.  Ileie  it  is  that  one  c;ets  his  Inst 
repui^nant  feeling  ttnvaid  the  spurimis  miracles  which  tc^rnient 
him  at  ever>-  jtlace  he  visits  in  Palestine.  \\'h\-.  in  the  name 
oi  all  reason.  shouKl  a  i)cri)elual  miiacle  be  wrous^ht  to  suspend 
a  column  that  marks  INIary's  conjectural  position?  If  either 
column  should  be  in  the  air.  it  woukl  seem  as  thouu:h  it  might 
ha\e   been  the   angel's,  though   a  man    can  see   no  excuse   for 


ATTKMPT  TO  PHOTOGRAPH  ONE  NAZARETH  GIRL 


placing  either  one  of  them  in  that  absurd  position.  But  it 
will  not  do  to  remain  long  and  cavil  over  a  thing  like  this.  It 
is  a  small  miracle  in  its  way  that  keeps  a  column  suspended 
from  a  ceiling.  The  house  in  which  Mary  lived  was  trans- 
ported entire  by  a  miracle,  to  prevent  the  Moslems  from  dese- 
crating it.  This  occurred  in  the  thirteenth  century,  or,  to  be 
exact,  on  the  loth  of  May,  1291.  Nobody  heard  of  it  at  the 
time,  nor  for  a  hundred  and  eighty  years  afterward,  but  that 
makes  no  difference;  the  story  was  established  when  I'aul  II 
was  pope,  and  thus  the  miracle  has  its  authority  through 
official  certification.  Fortunately  the  house  did  not  altogether 
disappear.      It  was  located  at  Terasto  in  Dalmatia  ;  but  miracles 


NAZARETH,  THE    BOYHOOD   HOME    OF   JESUS 


H3 


were  cheap  and  plenty,  and  the  liouse  was  moved  again,  and 
is  now  at  Loretto,  in  Italy,  Miracles  of  this  sort,  moving 
sacred   things  about  to  different   places,  are  very  convenient, 


ANOTHKK    ATTKMrT 


as    they    make    new    and    profitable    shrines   without    greatly 
diminishing  the  value  of  the  old  ones. 

There  is  enough  left  to  give  op})ortunity  for  myth-making 
in  the  Church  of  the  Annunciation,  'i'heie  is  an  underground 
chiapel  of  St.  Josepii,  and  from  this  through  a  dark  anrl  wind- 
ing passage  one  comes  into  an  old  cistern  calKd  the  Kitchen 
of  the  Vir<n'n.  Traditions  of  this  kind  arc  most  at  home  in 
subterran(.-an  ca\'erns;  the\'  will  not  bear  too  much  of  tla\dight. 


144  IHi:    iM.D    WOKI.n    IN     THK    XKW   CENTURY 

riic  visitoi-  cscaiH's  fioiii  the  C"hui\li  of  lln'  Annunciation 
t'ccliuL;-  th.il  ihc  w  hole  st<ir\-  of  the  birth  and  childhood  of  Jesus 
is  indescribably  chcapcnei.1  ant!  \ult;arized  l)y  this  attempt  to 
localize  it. 

One  is  not  done  with  trailitions,  ho\ve\er.  I^'roni  here  he 
must  come  to  the  carpenter  shop  of  Josei)h.  This  also  is  a 
church  in  the  luuuls  i^\  the  l'"ranciscan  monks.  It  was  built 
in  1S58  antl  1S59.  If  \-ou  do  not  believe  that  this  is  the 
veritable  shop  of  Joseph,  the  monks  w  ill  upturn  a  hinged  board 
in  the  iloor  and  show  you  the  stone  foundation.  If  it  has 
occurred  to  any  one  that  the  foundation  might  have  belonged 
to  anything  else  than  a  carpenter  shop,  that  fact  is  not  on 
record.  There  is  the  foundation  and  no  one  who  sees  it  can 
doubt  that  it  is  a  foundation,  or  that  it  might  have  supported 
a  carpenter  shop  as  easily  as  anything  else.  Palestine  is  no 
place  for  the  interrogation  point.  If  you  want  to  see  it  with 
any  degree  of  comfort,  you  must  believe  what  is  told  you. 

Next  to  the  beggars  and  the  dirt  the  most  distressing  thing 
in  Palestine  is  the  number  of  these  myths  and  traditions 
imposed  upon  the  traveler.  Every  event  recorded  in  the 
Bible  must  be  located  in  some  particular  place,  or  the  credu- 
lous will  not  be  satisfied.  So  traditions,  legends  and  fairy 
tales  are  most  abundant.  Fortunately  there  are  some  indis- 
putable sites,  and  others  extremely  probable;  but  to  distin- 
guish between  them  and  the  myths,  which  the  guides  relate 
with  equal  confidence,  is  not  only  difficult,  but  distressing. 
One  cannot  see  Palestine  to  advantage  without  sympathy.  It 
is  not  pleasant  nor  yet  profitable  to  be  perpetually  doubting, 
but  there  is  mucli  one  must  doubt  if  he  be  at  all  reasonable. 
Three-fourths  of  the  traditions  have  absolutely  no  historic 
value,  and  not  all  the  remaining  fourth  are  above  question. 

Mark  Twain  remarked  upon  the  fact  that  most  of  the 
events  that  have  been  localized  appear  to  have  occurred  in 
grottoes.  One  wonders  at  first  why  these  and  .so  many  other 
places  are  underground,  and  why  explorations  involve  digging. 
An  Oriental  city,  if  not  built  on  a  hill  originally,  tends  con- 
.stantly  to   make  a  hill    for  itself.      Houses  tumble  down,  dirt 


NAZARETH,  THE    BOYHOOD    HOME   OF   JESUS 


H5 


gathers  ia  the  street  and  at  the  gates.  It  is  easier  to  build 
up  than  to  shovel  out.  War  and  decay  accumulate  debris  on 
which  the  later  city  is  built.  So  eastern  cities  rise  on  step- 
ping stones  of  their  dead  selves. 

I  was  less  interested  in  the  traditional  carpenter  shop  of 
Joseph  than  perhaps  I  should 
have  been,  but  I  was  greatly 
pleased  to  find  a  veritable 
carpenter  shop  in  actual  use, 
and  to  discover  on  entering 
it  that  it  was  just  as  primi- 
tive as  one  could  have  ex- 
pected to  find,  had  he  visited 
Nazareth  in  the  days  of 
Joseph.  The  tools,  the  bench, 
the  methods  of  working,  were 
all  of  the  ancient  type;  and 
I  felt  as  I  saw  the  sturdy  la- 
borer at  his  bench,  that  here, 
at  least,  was  something  worth 
coming  to  Nazareth  to  see. 
I  looked  about  the  shop  for 
something  portable  which  1 
might  buy,  and  found  two 
crude  little  frames  as  unlike 
as  possible  to  the  handsome 
little  olive-wood  mementoes 
that  arc  manufactured 
throughout  Palestine  for 
souvenirs.  These  apparently  were  made  for  home  consump- 
tion, and  I  gladly  bought  them,  though  the  carpenter  mani- 
fested some  surprise  at  m\'  caring  for  them. 

In  one  of  his  evening  talks  to  us  about  the  customs  of 
Palestine,  Joseph,  the  dragoman  of  whom  I  have  already 
spoken,  gave  us  a  great  deal  of  information  about  the  carpen- 
ters of  that  countr\-.  lie  told  us  that  the  carpenter  is  almost 
invariably  a  man  of   intelligence,  accustomed  to  judge,  when 


ii 

NAIFE   OF   NAZARETH 

(With  white  bag) 


14^         THE  oi.n  WOK  1.1 )  IN    iiii;  m:\v  ciaitky 

articles  arc  bi'oui;ht  t<i  him  for  repair,  in  wliat  manner  they 
have  been  injured,  anil  able  to  tell  a  farmei'  tliroiiL^h  what  fault 
he  has  broken  his  plow  or  other  implement.  loseph  toKl  us 
that  a  carpentei-"s  w nrk  is  lai"i;el\-  in  tlu'  manufacture  of  ai^ri- 
cultui.il  implements,  and  we  could  uutierstaiul  this  when  we 
saw  how  meai^er  is  the  supply  of  furnitun-  in  the  average 
Svrian  home.  He  said  further,  that  the  carpenter,  as  he  has 
implements  for  measuring  and  is  a  man  accustomed  to  calcu- 
hiting  dimensions,  is  frequently  appealed  to  to  settle  disputes 
concerning  boundar\-  lines,  and  to  survey  small  tracts  of  land. 
He  told  us  that  the  carpenter  is  likely  to  be  a  man  to  whom 
people  turn  in  emergencies  that  call  for  experience  aiul  sound 
judgment,  ami  that  his  shop  is  a  place  wdiere  people  gather, 
not  so  much  for  idling  as  for  conversation  on  themes  of 
current  interest,  and  questions  whose  importance  rather  tran- 
scends in  dignity  the  ordinary  gossip  of  the  village.  All  this 
was  very  interesting  to  us,  for  Joseph  maintained,  from  his 
knowledge  of  the  carpenter's  social  position  in  a  Palestine 
village,  that  Joseph,  the  carpenter  of  Nazareth,  must  have 
been  a  man  of  some  note  in  his  own  town,  and  that  Jesus 
grew  up  in  an  atmosphere  of  wholesome  discussion  and  stimu- 
lating conversation  on  all  matters  of  current  interest.  Joseph 
declared  that  the  carpenter  was  quite  likely  to  be  a  man  of 
property,  his  services  being  in  constant  requisition,  and  fairly 
well  paid  in  money  or  in  produce.  He  drew  for  us  quite  a 
vivid  picture  of  the  departure  of  Jesus  from  his  carpenter 
shop,  as  he  conceived  it  to  have  taken  [)lace,  and  believed 
that  the  sale  of  his  effects  must  have  given  him  a  respectable 
supply  of  money  with  which  to  begin  his  public  ministry. 
The  disciples,  Joseph  contended,  cannot  have  been  poor  men,. 
according  to  the  standards  of  their  time,  and  Jesus  must  have 
been  reasonably  well  to  do. 

Whether  Joseph  is  correct  in  all  this  or  not,  the  carpenter 
shop  of  Nazareth  seemed  to  us  a  place  that  fairly  illustrated 
his  theory.  We  could  imagine  it  not  simply  a  place  of 
grinding,  harassing  toil,  but  the  scene  of  many  animated  dis- 
cussions   betw^een    neighbors   and   acquaintances   and   patrons 


NAZARETH,  THE   BOYHOOD   HOME   OF   JESUS  H7 


of    the    shop,   on    agriculture,    reh'gion,   politics    and    matters 
of  passing  note. 

No  such  vision  as  this  did  we  get  in  the  church  that  claims 
to  cover  the  foundation  of  Joseph's  shop.  Here  there  was 
little  to  kindle  the  imagina- 
tion, or  to  suggest  any  light 
on  the  boyhood  of  Christ,  but 
the  illumination  came  in  the 
discovery  of  the  village  arti- 
san, laboring  as  he  did  in  the 
time  of  Christ,  and  amid  con- 
ditions essentially  unchanged. 
This  afforded  an  instructive 
commentary  on  those  compre- 
hensive verses,  which,  to- 
gether with  the  incident  of 
his  visit  to  the  temple,  make 
up  our  record  of  his  first 
thirty  years,  that  "Jesus  ad- 
vanced in  wisdom  and  stature, 
and  in  favor  with  God  and 
men."  And  the  verse  closing 
the  account  of  his  visit  to  the 
temple  with  Joseph  and  Mary, 
that  "He  went  down  with 
them,  and  came  to  Nazareth: 
and  he  was  subject  unto  them." 

There  are  sonic  industries 
about   Nazareth   that   interest 

the  tourist.  Street  venders  sell  knives  with  a  curved  blade  and 
horn  handle.  They  are  sharp  and  seem  to  be  of  good  steel, 
and  arc  sold  at  a  very  low  price.  Scissors  arc  also  sold  upon 
the  street.  They  are  of  a  crude  pattern,  characteristic  of  the 
place,  and  while  the  finish  is  rough  the  blades  are  hollow- 
hammered  and  seem  to  be  serviceable.  Photographs  and 
picture  postal-cards  are  abundant,  and  a  visitor  may  buy  some 
genuine  antiques  here.      There  arc  ancitiit  tombs  in  Nazareth 


(;iKL  WITH  \vati:r-pot 


14-"^  THE    Ol.n    WOULD    IN     lllK    NKW    CENTl'KV 

from  which  aw  oht.iiiu-il  sonu-  very  <:^oo(l  specimens  of  early 
^•••lass,  aiul  tliese  are  soKl  much  cheaper  than  in  Jerusalem, 
Some  souvenirs  are  manufacturetl  here  in  olive-wood,  though 
the  more  extensi\-e  shops  are  in  or  near  Jerusalem.  Here  one 
may  buy  little  terra-cotta  water-jars  and  miniature  hand  mills. 
The  ilaintiest  anil  most  portable  souvenirs  for  sale  in  Nazareth 
are  bits  oi  lace  manufactured  by  the  girls  of  the  village. 
There  is  an  excellent  school  and  orphanage  maintained  by  the 
Episcopal  Church  Missionary  Society,  where  the  girls  are 
taught  to  do  this  kind  of  work,  and  the  i)roducts  are  sold  at  a 
very  low  price.  The  same  kind  of  goods  are  sold  upon  the 
street  by  the  young  women  of  the  village. 

One   of   these   3'oung   women   who    exposed    lace    for   sale 
attracted    my    attention    from    the   outset.      She   was   always 
smiling,  and  when    I   asked   her  her  name,   she    said  "Naife" 
(I  suppose  that  is  the  way  to  spell  it);  the  first  vowel  sound  is 
a  very  long  i,  and  she  pronounced  the  name  in  two  syllables. 
I  bought  some  lace  from  her,  and  met  her  afterward  at  every 
turn  in  Nazareth,  always  laughing  and   offering  something  for 
sale.     As  we  rode  out  of  Nazareth  the  next  morning,  I  saw  her 
sitting  in  a  doorway  of  what  was  evidently  her  home,  and  she 
lauehed  when   I  called  her  by  her  name,  and  ran  to  get  some 
lace  to  sell.      The  second  afternoon  we  were  back  in  Nazareth 
again,  and  Naife  was  at  the  camp  awaiting  us  and  ran  forward 
to  meet  us.      I  was  looking  at  her  lace  when  an   older  woman 
came  up,  and  handing  me  a  bit  of  paper  with  a  name  written 
upon  it,  asked   me  in  very  good  English  if  I  could  tell   her  in 
which  tent  she  could  find  the  lady  named  thereon.      Quick  as 
a  flash   Naife   seized  the  paper,  threw  it   on   the  ground,  and 
tramped   upon   it ;    and   when   the   older  woman    rescued   the 
paper,  Naife  repeated  the  performance  like  the  veritable  little 
spitfire  that   she  was.      I    interposed   and   rescued  the  paper, 
and   took  occasion  to   ask  some   questions  of  the  woman  who 
presented  it. 

She  told  me  that  she  was  unmarried,  and  that  she  and  her 
widowed  sister-in-law  sui)ported  the  children  of  her  deceased 
brother  by  making  and  selling  bits  of  lace.      The  times,  always 


NAZARETH,  THE    BOYHODD    HOME    OF   JESUS  149 


iHE    FOUNTAIN    i;l'     illl-    \  UiOlN 


hard  willi  them,  ha\'c  been  i)eculiarl_\-  so  tliis  )-ear,  as  the 
number  of  tourists  is  largcl\-  rechiced.  Tliere  are  many  wid- 
ows in  Nazareth,  she  said ;  many  men  die  from  exposure  as 
shepherds  and  drivers  and  muleteers,  and  few  men  care  to 
marry  a  widow,  especially  if  she  is  encumbered  with  ciiildren. 
There   are  not   man\-  thinsjs  which    a  widow  can    do   to  earn  a 


is^^         Tiw  oi  n  woRii)  IN    iiii:  ni:\v  ci'.N'rrRV 

li\inL;  for  horsclt  ,iiul  hvv  taniilw  Tin.'  orphaiiaLje  offers  ^^nc 
opportunities  for  the  children,  hut  a  \\(inian  wlio  wislies  to 
keep  her  hcniseholil  toi^ellier  has  a  hard  liatlle  to  fit^'ht.  The 
interest  w  hieh  1  manifested  in  hir  stoi}-  of  the  strui;glc  which 
she  and  the  otlier  woman  were  haxin^',  led  her  to  inquire 
whetluT  1  w  (luKI  consider  the  ])urchase  of  her  sister-in-law's 
silk  wedding'-gown,  which,  being  a  willow,  she  could  ne\'er 
wear  again.  T  bought  it  from  her,  anil  was  glad  to  assist  her 
in  making  other  sales. 

Every  one  who  comes  to  Nazareth  speaks  about  the 
women  there.  Mark  Twain  has  ridiculed  those  who  speak  of 
the  "Madonna-like  beauty"  of  the  Nazareth  girls.  Never- 
theless, it  remains  true  that  one  sees  better  types  of  women 
there  than  anywhere  else  in  Galilee,  if  not  in  Palestine.  Being 
Christians,  they  wear  no  veils.  The  best  place  to  see  them  is 
near  the  fountain  from  which  the  village  is  supplied  with 
water.  It  is  called  the  Fountain  of  the  Virgin,  from  the 
assumption  that  Mary  carried  water  from  this  spring,  which 
is  not  at  all  improbable.  Indeed,  she  must  have  done  so,  for 
there  is  no  other  fountain  in  Nazareth,  and  the  whole  village 
depends  ui)on  it  for  water  to  this  day.  The  inevitable  church 
is  built  above  the  spring  itself,  but  the  water  breaks  forth 
close  by  in  a  public  fountain  in  the  forks  of  the  road.  This 
is  the  one  incontestably  genuine  place  in  Nazareth.  Ever  since 
Nazareth  began  to  be  a  village  this  fountain  must  have  been 
the  daily  source  of  supply  for  all  its  families.  To  and  from 
the  fountain  is  a  constant  procession  of  people  bringing  water, 
and  this  work  falls  especially  upon  the  young  women.  It  is 
thus  a  gathering-place  for  the  young  womanhood  of  the  town, 
and  the  tourist  can  keep  his  camera  in  constant  requisition 
obtaining  types  of  Nazareth  girlhood.  I  cannot  say  that 
Nazareth  girls  are  strikingly  handsome  of  face,  but  many  of 
them  are  very  graceful  in  their  carriage.  The  carrying  of 
water-jars  upon  the  head  is  the  best  possible  way  of  securing 
an  erect  figure,  and  remarkable  depth  of  chest.  WHien  em])ty, 
the  jars  are  carried  upon  the  side;  when  full,  they  are  not 
quite   erect,  but   tilted   at  a  slight   angle,  and    are   borne  with 


NAZARETH,  THE    BOYHOOD    HOME   OF   JESUS 


Isl 


the  utmost  composure  and  unconscious  grace.  I  did  not  dis- 
cover any  face  here  that  met  my  ideal  of  a  Madonna,  but  in 
the  constant  procession  that  went  from  the  fountain  up  to  the 
village,  I  saw  her  in  imagination,  bearing  a  water-pot,  with 
erect  form  and  dignity  of  mien,  and  holding  by  the  hand  a 
little  Boy,  who  prattled  as  he  walked  by  her  side  and  asked 
questions  beyond  his  years,  and  his  mother  "kept  all  these 
sayings,  pondering  them  in  her  heart." 

We  left  our  carriages  at  Nazareth,  and  continued  our  jour- 
ney on  horseback.  Hundreds  of  horses  were  tethered  near 
the  camp  waiting  for  us  to  select  from  them.  The  tour  to 
find  the  horses  took  us  through  the  camp  annex,  where  the 
cooking  was  done,  and  among  the  camp  baggage.  There  was 
something  indescribablv  novel  in  the  situation;  and  when  a 
caravan  of  camels  stopped  close  by,  and  we  had  to  pick  our 
way  among  them  back  to  the  tents,  some  of  the  ladies  paused 
and  attempted  to  classify  their  sensations. 

"How  do  you  feel  about  it?"  asked  one  of  them. 

"I  feel  as  if  I  belonged  to  a  circus,"  was  the  reply. 

Knowing  that  we  had  many  days  to  spend  in  the  saddle, 
I  bethought  myself  early  about  the  choice  of  a  horse,  and 
spoke  to  every  dragoman  and  muleteer  whom  I  met  to  see 
that  I  had  a  crood  one.  It  may  be  that  the  excessive  number 
of  cooks  spoiled  the  broth;  certainly  it  is  true  that  when  they 
brought  together  their  joint  wisdom  on  the  horse  question, 
they  introduced  me  to  the  worst  looking  crow-bait  in  the  lot. 
I  asked  what  qualifications  he  had  that  commended  him  to 
their  choice.  They  replied  th.it  he  was  very  gentle.  Cer- 
tainly he  looked  it.  I  responded  that  that  particular  t\pe  of 
gentleness  which  he  represented  was  precisely  the  one  qualifi- 
cation which  I  did  not  require  in  a  horse.  I  had  been  looking 
around  a  Httle  on  my  own  account,  and  liail  ni\-  e}-e  on  a  little 
Lrrav  stallion,  with  a  good  deal  of  Arab  blood  in  him,  as  I 
judged,  and  apparently  plenty  of  si)irit.  1  did  not  like  his 
color  very  well;  a  gray  horse  goes  ill  with  a  black  suit.  The 
average  minister  of  the  gospel  who  can  receix'c  from  his  ami- 
able hostess  a  fringed  white  napkin  w  ilhout  a  x'iolent  explosion 


152         nil-.  01, i>  woKi  i)  IN  nil-.  m:\v  cicntdrv 

of  wrath  must  be  one  who  lias  IcanuHl  to  control  his  own 
spirit  ailniirahh-.  llowoxcr.  ours  was  not  a  dinner  party,  and 
I  wouKl  ratluM-  brush  white  hairs  from  a  bhiek  coat  and  be 
able  to  i;et  there  than  to  spend  the  da\-  in  equestrian  practice 
on  a  horse  th.it  looked  as  though  he  mi;;ht  come  uncoupled 
in  the  middle. 

"What    is    the    matter    with    the    little    o-ray    stallion?"    1 

asked. 

"lie  is  very  hartl  to  hold,"  was  the  reply. 

"I  would  rather  have  one  hard  to  hold  than  hard  to  pro- 
pel, ' '  said  I. 

They  assured  me  that  my  horse  was  very  tough-bitted; 
that  I  would  regret  it  if  I  chose  him;  but  I  looked  the  little 
stallion  in  the  eye,  and  his  eye  was  kind.  lie  did  not  lay 
back  his  cars  when  I  approached  him,  and  his  legs  were 
smooth  and  clean  antl  muscular.  Against  the  advice  of  all  of 
them,  I  took  the  little  gray.  Many  other  people  changed 
their  horses  once  or  twice  a  day,  but  I  rode  mine  from 
start  to  finish,  and  we  grew  to  be  good  friends. 

I  soon  found  that  my  horse  was,  indeed,  a  hard  one  to 
hold.  He  had  an  ambition  to  head  the  procession,  and  he 
could  not  understand  why  I  was  unwilling  to  have  him  assume 
the  lead.  There  were  a  few  spirited  horses  in  the  caravan, 
whose  Arab  blood  made  it  irksome  to  remain  behind  any  other 
horse.  They  would  gladly  have  gone  to  the  head  of  the 
column,  and  then  have  raced  with  each  other.  My  little  horse 
tried  to  tell  me  again  and  again  that  I  was  very  foolish  not 
to  let  him  manage  the  matter  himself.  I  know  that  I  was  a 
disappointment  to  him,  and  at  times  he  nearly  rebelled;  but  in 
one  thing  I  found  that  he  had  been  greatly  maligned,  and  in  that 
he  had  my  sincere  sympathy — he  was  not  tough-bitted  at  all. 
Instead,  his  month  was  very  tender,  but  he  had  been  ridden 
with  so  cruel  a  bit  that  he  could  not  be  satisfied  to  travel 
except  with  the  bit  in  his  teeth.  The  moment  we  started 
out,  he  would  toss  his  head  until  he  got  a  firm  grip  on  the 
bit,  and  then  he  would  put  his  head  down  and  forge  ahead 
with  all  his  might.      So  I  discovered  that  my  horse  was  suffer- 


NAZARETH,  THE   BOYHOOD   HOME    OF   JESUS  I53 

ing  under  an  unjust  imputation,  and  I  sympathized  with  him, 
for  I,  too,  have  sometimes  been  counted  headstrong,  and  for 
a  Hke  reason  not  wholly  just.  Wherefore,  I  gave  my  horse 
all  the  freedom  possible,  and  at  the  earliest  opportunity 
chantred  the  bridle.  I  was  warned  not  to  do  this;  I  was  told 
that  no  other  bit  would  serve  to  hold  him;  but  I  secured  the 
gentlest  bit  I  could  find,  and  spared  m}'  pony's  tender  mouth, 
and  I  think  that  he  was  grateful.  The  tough-bitted  horse  or 
man,  so  called,  is  often  one  to  whom  the  world  has  seemed 
cruel  by  reason  of  his  unusual  sensitiveness,  and  not  one  who 
is  vicious  or  full  of  wilful  obstinacy.  Wherefore,  I  bear  record 
to  the  gentleness  and  kindness  of  my  little  gray  stallion. 

Throughout  those  days  of  weary  travel  he  never  kicked 
or  showed  a  vicious  trait,  though  sometimes  suffering  extreme 
provocation  from  other  horses  near.  I  spared  him  on  the 
steep  ascents,  and  walked  beside  him  over  the  harder  places, 
but  I  rode  him  over  ditches  and  rocks,  and  down  steep  declivi- 
ties, and  he  never  slipped  or  stumbled.  His  only  fault  was 
too  great  ambition,  and  a  tenderness  of  mouth,  which  caused 
him  to  be  maligned,  and  these  faults  I  count  small  when  I 
remember  his  spirit,  his  patience,  and  his  sure-footedness. 


NA/AKI.TH    l-KOM     Till-:    KoAI)    To    f:ANA 


CHAPTER  XI 

AMONG    THP:    hills    OI"    GALILEE 

It  is  cust(iniar\-  in  rdlcstinc  to  measure  distances  by  hours 
and  minutes  instead  of  by  miles  and  rods.  From  Haifa  to 
Nazareth  is  twenty-three  and  one-half  miles;  from  Nazareth 
to  Tiberias  is  about  eighteen  miles,  and  the  distance  is  given  in 
the  guide-books  as  five  hours  and  fifty  minutes.  One  can 
count  three  miles  to  the  hour,  if  he  is  anxious  to  reduce  the 
distances  to  miles,  but  it  is  always  safe  to  make  a  little  time 
allowance;  for  three  miles  an  hour  is  rather  fast  riding  in 
Palestine,  especially  in  a  company  with  ladies  or  others  unac- 
customed to  riding.  To  make  eighteen  miles  before  noon 
involves  an  early  start,  and  it  is  amusing  to  see  how  success- 
fully one  hundred  and  twenty  pilgrims,  constituting  a  single 
camp,  can  be  gotten  into  the  saddle  at  six  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  In  our  Palestine  camp,  we  were  called  at  five 
o'clock,  breakfasted  at  five-thirty,  and  started  at  six.  Thus 
we  avoided  the  excessive  heat,  and  got  our  harder  half-day's 
work  done  in  good  season. 

It  is  not  so  hard  as  it  might  seem  to  get  a  party  of  tourists 
up  in  the  morning  if  the  right  means  are  employed.  A  camj) 
mule  loaded  with  sleicfh-bells  and  cow-bells  sounded  the  dailv 
reveille.  He  trotted  up  one  line  of  tents  and  tlown  another 
until  he  had  been  drix-en  several  times  around  the  camp,  and 
was  followed  by  camp  attendants  beating  kettles  and  kettle 
covers  and  every  unmusical  instrument  known  to  Bedlam.  If 
a  boiler  factory  could  suddenly  have  been  projected  under 
each  pillow  it  would  not  more  surely  have  wakened  every  soul 
in  our  canvas  city.  But  if  any  further  persuasion  were  needed 
to  get  us  out  of  bed  and  quickly  dressed,  it  was  the  knowl- 
edge that  in  just  thirty  minutes  the  canvas-men  would  be  at 
work   at  the   tents.      Joseph   spoke   of   it   as   the   daily  march 

154 


AMONG   THE    HILLS   OF   GALILEE 


155 


around  Jericho,  between  whose  walls  and  the  canvas  sides  of 
our  tents  there  was  a  remarkable  similarity  in  the  speed  of 
their  tumbling.  While  one  is  lacing  his  shoes  and  getting 
out  his  tooth-brush,  he  hears  men  at  the  ropes,  and  no  pro- 
test shouted  in  English  avails  to  dissuade  them  from  their 
determination  to  get  the  tent  packed  as  quickly  as  possible, 
and  on  its  way  to  the  next  encampment. 

It  is  a  great  bother  to  have  to   inquire  about   the  truth  of 


CANA    OF    CiALlKKE 


things.  It  is  much  more  convenient  to  believe  what  is  told 
you  and  ask  no  (picstions.  Tradition  is  a  great  settler  of  dis- 
putes to  those  who  trust  tratlition.  The  argument  in  favor  of 
tradition  amounts  to  this,  that  any  link  of  human  testimony 
or  conjecture  of  the  present  must  have  sui)port.  But  it  \ou 
lengthen  the  chain  until  the  end  of  it  is  out  of  sight,  it  is 
safe  to  believe  that  there  is  surely  a  hook'  somewhere;  but  if 
not,  the  chain,  if  long  enough,  can  somehow  hang  alone. 
Kafr-Kenna  is  the  traditional  site  of  C"ana  of  Galilee.  I)r. 
Robinson  denies  the  claims  of  this  village,  and  believes  that 
the  real  Cana  was  Kan.i-el-Jelil,  which  lies  nine  iiiiK's  north  ot 
Nazareth,    and    Hastings'  new    1  )ietioiiaiy  of    tlu'    i'.ible,    with 


156  iiii;  (.)i.i)  woKi.n  IN    nil    m.w  ci:Ni"URV 

otluM-  recent  authoi  ilies.  slroUL^ly  supports  Rohiiison's  view. 
Now.  this  is  a  urcat  .mnoN-ance,  for  K.an,i-(.-l- 1  elil  lies  oil  the 
road  oi  tlie  oi\linar\-  tourist,  and  it  is  uiueh  more  convenient 
when  scholars  ai^ree  in  sujiportinL;-  the  claims  of  the  more 
accessible  sites.  Vor  m\-self,  I  believe  in  tin:  ^tMuiineness  of 
Kafr-Kenna.  because  this  is  the  one  1  visited.  Moreover, 
nobod\-  in  Kafr-Kenna  iloul)ts  the  genuineness  of  this,  the 
traditional  site.  And  .1  lan^e  proportion,  if  not  a  majority,  of 
scholars  favor  this  place. 

We  were  ridini^-  alon^-  from  Nazareth  to  Tiberias.  It  was 
a  foggy  morning,  and  the  road  was  bad.  We  had  crossed  a 
high  and  rocky  hill  and  came  down  into  the  valley  past  tlie 
spring  where  tlie  Franks  gained  their  victory  over  the  Moslems 
on  May  1,  I  1S7.  The  fog  began  to  lift,  and  we  were  able  to 
see  across  to  the  left  the  ancient  village  of  Gath-hepher,  where 
Jonah  was  born,  as  we  are  told  in  2  Kings,  14:  25.  It  is  this 
historic  reference  to  Jonah  that  assures  us  that  the  book  of 
Jonah  is  not  without  some  historic  foundation.  That,  how- 
ever, does  not  assure  us  what  is  the  literary  character  of  the 
book  that  bears  his  name,  whether  history  or  parable.  Such  a 
character  as  Jonah  must  have  lived,  though  the  book  is  not 
a  book  of  sermons  like  the  other  books  named  for  the  proph- 
ets, but  is  rather  the  account,  in  part  poetical,  of  the  prophet's 
personal  experiences,  and  is,  therefore,  quite  unlike  the  other 
books  called  prophets.  There  seems  to  be  no  doubt  about 
the  place  where  Jonah  was  born,  and  if  we  had  cared  to  ride 
twelve  minutes  off  our  route  and  back  again,  we  could  have 
seen  what  passes  for  his  tomb;  but  we  were  intent  on  getting 
to  Tiberias  in  time  for  a  whole  afternoon  upon  the  lake,  and 
inasmuch  as  there  is  far  less  evidence  that  Jonah  was  ever  in 
this  tomb  than  there  is  that  he  was  swallowed  by  the  whale, 
and  as  the  whale  is  not  on  exhibition  in  Gath-hepher,  we 
pressed  straight  on  to  Kafr-Kenna,  which  lies  on  the  road  to 
Tiberias. 

Before  we  reached  the  village  a  Greek  priest,  who  lives 
apparently  on  this  side  of  the  town,  came  running  down  and 
pointing  ahead   to  the  village  called   out  to   us,  "Kahnah   of 


AMONG   THE    HILLS   OF    GALILEE 


'57 


Galilee!  Kahnah  of  Galilee!"  Our  caravan  strung  out  more 
than  a  mile  along  the  road,  and  the  priest  was  not  the  only 
one  who  came  to  intercept  us  at  the  village.  A  little  this 
side  of  Cana,  for  such  I  like  to  think  it  to  be,  is  a  village 
spring,  where  a  fine  old  sarcophagus  serves  as  a  watering- 
trough.  Up  on  a  hill  to  the  right,  I  heard  what  I  heard 
nowhere  else  in  Palestine,  the  puff  of  a  little  stationary  steam 
engine,  run,  I  doubt  not,  with  petroleum,  for  surely  there  is 
no  fuel  in  that  region  to  maintain  such  an  industry.  I  tried 
to  ascertain  what  business 
is  carried  on  there,  but  no 
one  of  whom  I  inquired 
knew  anything  about  it. 
I  fancy  it  might  have  been 
a  small  sawmill  and  turn- 
ing-lathe for  the  manufac- 
ture of  olive-wood  sou- 
venirs. 

The  approach  to  Cana 
is  interesting.  It  leads 
through  olive  orchards  and 
erardens  surrounded  with 
cactus  hedges.  From  the 
bleak  hill  over  which  we 
had  come,  the  descent  into  this  fertile  valley  was  pleasing.  Cana 
is  on  high  ground,  though  not  upon  a  hill,  and  the  site  is  inter- 
esting, being  at  once  fertile  and  conspicuous.  The  village  itself 
is  unin\'iting.  The  dirt}',  narrow  little  street  has  refuse  heaps 
at  every  corner,  and  cow  thing,  whicli  is  the  fuel  of  the  village, 
is  drying  on  the  mud  walls  of  the  houses.  'I'his  latter  charac- 
teristic, which  is  not  pleasant  to  mention  often,  is  to  lie  inferred 
in  the  descriptions  of  most  of  the  smaller  x'illages  in  Talestine. 
If  there  is  one  thing  which  nioic  than  any  other  distresses  the 
sympathetic  visitor  accustomed  to  warm,  comfortable  homes, 
it  is  the  dearth  r)f  fuel  in  these  l'".asteiii  hinds. 

The    Greek    priest    hastened    ahead    of    us   to    the    church, 
which    lie    oj)ened    to    show    us    an    earthenware   jar   which    is 


MAKV    OF    CANA 
Photograph  by  Rev.  G.  B.  F.  Hallock,  D.O. 


IS-"^  THK    OLD    WORLD    IN     rill'.    M:W    CM'.NrLUV 

ilcchuiHl  lo  lu'  oiu-  o(  llu-  w  ali-'r-pots  used  (ov  tlic  miracle. 
The  little  cluiich  is  coiiif(irlahU\  aiul  left  a  pleasant  iin[)ression 
upon  our  minds.  The  piiest  was  courteous,  and  was  cpiitc 
willini;'  to  shmv  us  \\hate\er  he  thouL;ht  would  interest  us. 
lie  exhibited  to  us  a  tine  old  copy  of  the  Gospels,  woven,  I 
think,  into  a  kintl  o(  tli.itessaron,  or  ccMUinuous  narrative. 
The  people  kiss  the  cover  as  they  pass  out  after  service,  hut 
are  not  encouraged  to  read  the  Bible  in  their  homes. 

Near  by  is  the  Latin  church,  in  chari;e  of  the  Franciscan 
monks,  and  occupying  the  site  of  a  much  older  building, 
thought  to  have  been  the  ancient  synagogue.  The  father  at 
the  head  of  the  establishment  is  much  interested  in  archeology, 
and  conversed  pleasantly  in  German  concerning  his  investiga- 
tions. In  his  judgment,  the  water-pots  were  not  filled  from 
the  common  spring,  but  from  a  cistern  of  the  house  adjacent 
to  the  synagogue.  This  cistern  he  thinks  he  has  found,  and  he 
showed  it  to  us.  Of  course,  the  Franciscans  also  have  one  of 
the  original  water-pots,  and  a  better  collection  of  antiquities 
than  the  Greeks  possess.  It  seems  important  throughout 
Palestine  that  all  sacred  spots  should  be  preserved  in  dupli- 
cate, and  where  there  are  Coptic  or  Armenian  congregations, 
besides  the  Catholic  and  Greek,  it  is  necessary  that  there 
should  be  more.  We  w^ere  taken  into  the  refectory,  and  the 
monks  served  us  wine  of  the  quality  supposed  to  have  been 
used  at  the  wedding.  I  am  not  a  judge  of  wine,  being  a  life- 
long teetotaler,  but  I  tasted  of  this  to  try  its  flavor.  In  my 
judgment,  the  quality  would  hardly  justify  a  miracle. 

In  Cana,  as  elsewhere,  we  were  besieged  by  beggars  and 
by  people  having  trifles  for  sale.  One  girl  spoke  to  me  in 
English,  and  offered  me  a  bracelet,  wdiich  I  bought.  I  was 
pleased  wnth  her  face;  it  was,  on  the  whole,  the  best  face  I 
saw  in  Palestine.  I  asked  her  her  name,  and  she  told  me  it  was 
Mary.  She  w-as  an  orphan,  and  had  been  educated  at  the 
orphan's  school  in  Nazareth.  I  liked  her  face  and  also  her 
name,  and  not  having  found  a  face  in  Nazareth  that  quite 
answered  my  requirements  for  a  typical  Madonna,  a  friend 
and  I  proposed  to  make  a  photograph  of  her;  and  as  my  own 


AMONG  THE    HILLS   OF   GALILEE 


59 


camera  was  not  at  hand,  my  friend  offered  to  photograph  her 
for  me.  She  consented  on  condition  that  she  might  put  on 
her  best  clothing.  When  she  came  at  length  for  her  picture, 
she  had  rigged  herself  out  in  half- European  dress,  as  unlike 
as  possible  to  anything  in  which  we  wished  to  picture  her. 
I  am  afraid  the  photograph  will   hardly  show  her  as   I  wish  it 


TWO    WO.MEN    SHALL   BE    GRINDING    AT    THI.    MILL 


might,  for  in  truth,  she  seemed  quite  changed  in  Ikm-  Sunday 
clothes,  and  had  become  self-conscious,  and  far  less  attractive 
than  at  first  siie  seemed  to  be. 

The  Tirecks  have  a  little  school  at  Cana,  and  teach  the 
children  Arabic  and  l'>ench.  The  schoolroom,  which  we 
visited,  was  clean  and  cool,  and  they  served  us  lemonatle,  and 
were  (rlad  of  a  little  contribution.  Of  the  six  hundred  inhabi- 
tants  of  Cana,  half  are  Moslems,  and  the  most  of  the  remainder 
are   Greek   Christians,  with    a    few  Latins   and    a   still    smaller 


i6o         riiK  oi.i)  wDKi.n  IN   iiii':  new  century 

miinhcr  of  riolcslants.  All  ^A  the  inhabitaiUs  whom  \vc  met 
were  courteous,  w  hich  is  not  true  of  every  village  which  we 
visited. 

Cana  is  notcti  as  tlie  scene  of  Christ's  first  miracle,  and  it 
is  pleasant  to  reniember  lliat,  unlike  the  mcxst  of  his  mighty 
w  orks,  it  was  called  forth  by  no  great  exigency  of  sorrow  or 
distress.  When  once  his  i)ublic  work  liad  begun,  the  problem 
of  human  pain  pressed  lieavy  upon  him;  hunger  and  disease 
were  evervwhere  present;  but  his  first  nn'racle  had  for  its 
immediate  object  the  increasing  of  human  joy.  Cana  was 
the  home  of  Nathanael,  ami  of  course  his  house  is  still  pointed 
out.  No  Biblical  reference  that  can  be  localized  stands  in 
need  of  a  place  claiming  to  have  been  its  site.  Mary  had 
acquaintances  and  probably  relatives  in  Cana,  and  it  must 
have  been  a  satisfaction  to  the  first  disciples  of  Jesus  return- 
ing with  liim  from  the  Jordan  just  after  he  emerged  from  the 
forty  days  in  the  wilderness,  to  find  at  once  that  they  had 
mutual  acquaintances  in  the  family  where  the  wedding  oc- 
curred. The  first  call  of  Jesus  for  disciples  had  brought  him  five 
of  them,  who,  like  himself,  were  away  from  home  in  a  season 
when  fishing  was  slack,  forming  part  of  the  crowd  that  attended 
the  preaching  of  John  at  the  fords  of  the  Jordan.  The  six 
came  together  into  Galilee  and  were  guests  at  the  wedding, 
where  Mary  seems  to  have  occupied  some  special  relation  of 
intimacy,  through  kinship  or  acquaintance,  so  that  the  servants 
recognized  her  authority.  Jesus  had  been  gone  from  home  a 
good  while — forty  days  in  the  wilderness,  and  we  know  not 
how  much  longer.  It  is  entirely  possible  that  the  shortage 
of  provision  for  the  wedding  was  occasioned  by  the  unex- 
pected coming  of  himself  and  five  companions.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  it  is  a  pleasant  thought  that  he  counted  a  mere  embar- 
rassment on  the  part  of  his  host  and  hostess  a  thing  worthy 
of  his  consideration,  and  of  the  use  of  his  God-given  power. 
It  is  a  reminder  that  the  very  best  that  God  has  is  for  the  joy 
of  our  common  life. 

At  Cana,  I  first  saw  a  woman  grinding  at  the  mill,  and  I 
passed  through  the  open  door  and  watched  the  process.      She 


AMONG   THE    HILLS  OF   GALILEE 


\6l 


sat  astride  the  nether  stone,  which  was  hollowed  out  a  little 
to  receiv^e  the  coarse  meal,  which  the  motion  of  the  stones 
constantly  threw  out,  and  which  she  gathered  with  her  hand 
and  put  back  again.  I  took  hold  of  the  wooden  peg  in  the 
upper  mill-stone,  and  turned  it  round  and  round,  pouring  the 


(ilKL    CAKRV1N(;    l-UEL 


wheat  into  the  round  hollow  in  the  middle  of  the  stone.  It 
is  hard  work  for  one  to  do  alone,  for  it  is  a  long  reach  across 
the  stone.  I'wf)  people  get  on  much  better  than  one,  avoid- 
ing the  dead  center  which  is  experienced  b)-  a  single  griiuicr. 
When  two  women  are  grinding  at  the  mill,  and  one  is  taken 
away,  the  one  who  is  left  has  a  hard  task  before  her. 

Across  the  street,  and  not  far  a\va\',  was  an  oven,  and  I 
followetl  a  young  woman  who  entered  it.  The  interior  is 
made   very  hot   with    the  onl\-  kinds   of   fuel    which    they   can 


l63  THK    OLD    WDKl.n    IN     11  IK    MAV    Cl'-NTIUY 

i;ct.    fai^ots   ami    refuse.      A    ihovn    plant,    niakin<^-    a   kind    of 
brush,  which  is  cut  anil  carried  by  the  wcinu-n  on  their  heads, 
is   the    l\i\aM-ite   oven    fui-l.      The   oven    is   U)\\ ,  ha\inL;    barely 
room    iov    one    to   crouch    within.      The    earthen    or    concrete 
floor  has  round    holes,    whose  top   is  covered   with    a   smooth 
stone   or   metal    plate,  and    the   bottom    laid    deep  with    clean 
pebbles  or  rouml,  smooth  stones.      The  oven   is  heated    until 
the   stones  in  these   depressions   are   sufficiently  hot,  and    the 
bread  or  other  articles  to  be  baked   are  placed  upon  them  and 
covered   up,    not   unlike  the  method   of  the  shore  clambake. 
The   bread    is  baked    in    Hat,  thin    cakes.      Besides  bread,  the 
voune   woman  was   bakin<'-  turnovers  with    some   oreen   vege- 
table  between   the  crusts.      She  offered    to  let  me  taste  them, 
but    ihouo-h    they  smelled   good,  they  diil    not    look   inviting, 
and    the   place   was  too    hot    to    stay   in    long;   so   I    paid   her 
bakshish    and  retired.      It   should    be    understood,  of   course, 
that  no  such  investigation  is  undertaken  without  the  payment 
of  bakshish,  and   the  visitor  is  very  glad   to  pay,  for  it  is  in 
these  unchanged   customs    of  Bible  times  that  one  finds   his 
'    constant  commentary  on  the  Bible  itself. 

Most  of  the  cooking  in  Palestine  is  done  in  the  open  air, 
and  with  all  possible  saving  of  fuel.  Many  houses  have  no 
fireplace.  In  the  most  severe  weather  a  little  fire  is  built,  and 
the  smoke  finds  its  way  out  through  a  hole  in  the  roof.  I  do 
not  know  whether  the  same  fire  is  used  for  cooking.  The 
people  seem  to  eat  most  of  their  food  cold.  Our  muleteers 
were  constantly  fishing  food  out  of  the  interior  of  their  cloth- 
ine,  and  after  offering  to  share  it  with  us,  ate  it  as  they 
walked  along. 

We  had  a  second  visit  at  Cana  on  our  return  next  day, 
and  ate  our  lunch  under  the  olive-trees  near  by.  It  was  then 
that  we  saw  most  of  the  village.  On  the  first  day  we  stopped 
only   for   a  brief   rest,  and   then    rode   on   toward   the   sea   of 

Galilee. 

The  scenery  between  Nazareth  and  Tiberias  is  less  inter- 
esting at  the  outset  than  beyond  Cana,  but  even  from  the  first 
it  was  most  attractive.      The  gradual  lifting  of  the  fog  widened 


AMONG   THE    HILLS   OF   GALILEE 


163 


the  horizon  little  by  little,  and  in  time  revealed  to  us  the 
glories  of  Galilee  at  their  best.  By  the  time  the  sun  was  well 
up,  and  the  chill  of  the  early  morning  gone,  the  fertile  beauty 
of  the  plain  of  Esdraclon  appeared.  Wild  flowers  abound 
and  display  themselves  in  great  abundance;  the  wheat-fields 
are  waving    in   their   springtime   green ;    and    the    landscape, 


THE    VILLAGE    OVEN 


though  lacking  trees,  has  many  elements  of  beauty.  The 
picturcsqucncss  of  the  country  increases  as  one  leaves  Cana 
and  draws  nearer  the  lake,  and  the  country  grows  rougher  till 
we  reach  the  Mount  of  Beatitudes.  Kurn  llattin,  which 
rises  1,135  feet  above  the  sea,  is  alow,  double-topped  moun- 
tain, crf)wning  an  elevated  plateau.  Tradition  gives  this  as 
the  .scene  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  and  this  may  well  be 
correct.  On  the  plain  just  underneath  this  hill  Saladin 
defeated    the    I'^'anks   on   the    3(1   and  4th    of   jiil\-.   iiS;,  and 


1(^4  THK    1)1.1 )    WOK  1.1)    IN     illE    NKW    CENTURY 

tluMi-hy  brouj^lu  loan  ciul  {he  powoi-  oi  the  Latin  or  Cliristiaii 
kinj_;iloiu  in  Talrslino.  It  wa.s  a  rocky  and  waterless  spot 
where  Ciuy  de  l.usii;nan,  C'hristian  kin^  of  jernsaU'ni,  camped 
on  the  niL;ht  of  July  3.  Already  his  men  were  practically 
surronntleil ;  when  the  next  da}^  they  joined  their  final  battle 
they  were  disheartened  .mil  disori;ani/.ed,  and  all  but  perishiiiij 
with  the  heat  anil  their  L^reat  thiist.  By  evening;  their  army 
was  routed,  their  kini;  a  prisoner,  and  the  Holy  Cross  the 
spoil  of  the  intidel. 

Colonel  Condor  thus  describes  the  battle: 

The  sun  in  early  hours,  and  in  a  treeless  plain,  is  more  terrible  when 
its  rays  strike  level  at  the  face  than  even  in  midday,  when  the  breezes 
liegin  to  blow.  All  that  long  morning  the  Christians  marched,  their  heavy 
mail  heated  by  the  July  rays,  without  water,  without  shade,  without  daring 
to  halt  for  food.  Raymond  of  Tripoli  led  the  first  division,  and  in  the  center 
the  bishops  of  Acre  and  Eydda  bore  the  wood  of  the  True  Cross.  The 
Templars  came  in  the  rear.  The  light-armed  Turks  and  Arabs  hovered  on 
the  flanks,  and  harassed  the  army  with  their  arrows.  Thev  fired  the  sun- 
scorched  grass  and  stubble,  and  long  tracks  of  flame  swept  across  the 
plain,  and  smoke  obscured  the  way,  and  parched  the  throats  of  the  Chris- 
tians. In  the  afternoon  they  reached  the  village  of  Lubieli,  standing  on  a 
limestone  ridge,  with  a  few  olive  and  tig  trees,  but  without  a  spring,  and 
watered  only  from  cisterns,  which  perhaps  were  dry-  Nine  miles  of  road 
they  had  traversed,  and  Hattin  still  lay  two  miles  farther  to  the  northeast. 
Furious  assaults  continued  to  be  made  upon  them,  and  utterly  exhausted, 
they  halted  for  the  night.  They  passed  that  night  underarms,  with  smoke 
and  fire  around  them,  and  saw  at  dawn  the  barren  plain  before  them,  and 
the  enemy  holding  the  springs.  Many  deserted  and  went  out  to  beg  for 
water  from  their  foes,  and  one  of  these  is  said  to  have  brought  the  news  of 
the  distress  they  suffered  to  Saladin.  "Fall  on  them,"  he  said;  "they 
cannot  help  themselves;  they  are  dead  already!" 

The  battle  began  at  dawn,  and  the  old  Turkish  tactics  were  repeated. 
Whenever  tlie  knights  charged  down,  the  horsemen  fled,  and  turned  upon 
them  when  disordered.  Templars,  Hospitalers,  and  bowmen  fouglit  on 
with  desperate  courage,  but  many  of  the  footmen  broke  the  ranks,  and  cast 
away  their  arms,  fainting  with  tliirst  and  heat.  The  Moslem  forces  fell 
upon  them,  and  half  the  army  was  slain  and  half  was  taken  captive.  The 
leaders,  with  only  a  hundred  and  fifty  knights,  gathered  on  the  Horns  of 
Hattin  to  protect  the  Cross,  and  strove  to  rally  the  flying  army;  but  the 
arrows  fell  thick  upon  them,  and  the  knights  of  Raymond  of  Tripoli  raised 
the  cry  of  "  Sattve  qui  pcitf  /  "  i\ni\  with  his  few  followers,  and  I>alian  of 
Ibelin,  lie  cut  his  way  through  the  Turks,  and  brought  the  only  remnant  of 
the  great  army  safe  to  Tyre.  And  so  at  length  there  were  none  left  to 
fight,  and  the  survivors  of  the  little  group  on  Hattin  surrendered  to  Saladin. 


AMONG   THE    HILLS   OF   GALILEE 


165 


This  was  neither  the  first  nor  the  last  time  this  field  was 
fought  over.  In  April,  1799,  the  French,  under  Junot,  fought 
heroically  at  Lubieh,  close  by,  against  the  overwhelming  forces 
of  the  Turks.  Junot,  who  had  already  distinguished  himself 
under  Napoleon  in  Egypt,  and  there  had  been  made  general 
of  brigade,  at  the  head  of  three  hundred  cavalry  here  put  to 


TIBEKIAS 


flight  ten   thousand  Turks.      It  was  one  of  the  most   brilliant 
episodes  of  the  Napoleonic  wars. 

One  has  brief  time  to  recall  these  stirring  memories  here. 
The  country,  which  has  grown  steadily  more  beautiful,  needs 
now  but  one  added  feature  to  complete  it,  and  of  this  the 
tourist  has  long  been  thinking,  and  for  its  first  sight  eagerly 
watching.  At  length  he  rounds  the  crest  of  the  hill  and  comes 
in  sight  of  the  lake  whose  vision  puts  to  flight  all  historic 
reflections  save  those  associated  with  itself  antl  its  immediate 
shores.  T'or  a  long  time  as  we  lia\'e  ridden  we  have  been  able 
to  see  the  deep  gorge  that  marks  the  Jordan  valley — a  gorge 
hewn  out  far  below  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  line  of  hills 
on  the  other  side  of  Jordan  show  within  what  limits  must 
lie  the  historic  river   and    the  lake    from  which  it  Hows.       Now 


i66  THK    Oil)    WOKI.n    IN     IHK    NKW    CENTURY 

the  lake  appears,  .uul  .is  we  sit  in  the  satklle  ami  l<i(ik 
down  upon  the  calm  blue  of  the  sea,  we  are  impatient  to 
be  beside  it.  Still  a  rather  wide  detour  is  necessary  to 
make  the  descent,  otherwise  the  road  would  he  too  steep, 
and  it  is  full\-  an  hour  after  we  si^t;ht  the  lake  before  we 
arrive  at    Tiberias. 

Tiberias  is  a  town  of  about  four  thousand  inhabitants,  of 
whom  two-thirds  are  Jews,  twelve  hundred  are  Moslems,  and 
about  two  hundred  are  Christians  of  various  sects.  It  lies 
close  to  the  lake,  and  occupies  a  narrow  rim  of  its  shore, 
though  the  plain  would  permit  the  building  of  a  considerable 
city  toward  the  hills.  On  the  landward  side  there  is  a  wall 
with  towers.  The  modern  wall,  which  dates  from  the  middle 
of  the  last  century,  was  seriously  injured  in  the  great  earth- 
quake of  Jul}-  I,  1837.  Even  as  it  now  is,  it  looks  very  for- 
midable compared  with  other  Galikean  towns.  We  camped 
on  the  north  side  of  the  village  near  the  gate,  and  as  we  sat 
at  lunch  in  the  hot  sun  the  muezzin  of  the  minaret  just  within 
the  walls  gave  the  noon  call  to  prayer.  Above  the  wall  rose 
a  few  palm-trees,  and  along  the  road  wound  a  distinctly  Ori- 
ental procession  of  camels  and  donkeys  and  picturesquely 
dressed  people.  The  whole  scene  was  the  most  distinctly 
Oriental  of  anything  which  up  to  that  time  we  had  seen.  Not 
many  Moslems  live  in  Tiberias,  however,  nor  yet  many  Chris- 
tians. Tiberias  is  as  marked  a  Jewish  town  as  Nazareth  is 
Christian.  The  Jews  are  mostly  from  Poland,  and  they 
believe  that  the  Messiah  is  to  rise  up  out  of  the  waters  of  the 
lake,  and  land  at  Tiberias;  meantime,  prayers  must  be  repeated 
at  Tiberias  at  least  twice  a  week  to  preserve  the  rest  of  the 
world  from  destruction. 

Tiberias  was  built  by  Herod  Antipas  between  20  and  27 
A.  D.  It  was  begun  in  our  Lord's  early  manhood  and  fin- 
ished just  as  he  was  entering  his  public  ministry.  It  was  in 
its  glory  when  Jesus  dwelt  at  Capernaum  a  few  miles  north. 
It  was  built  by  Herod  Antipas,  whom  our  Lord  called  the 
"fox."  It  was  he  whom  the  heroic  John  rebuked,  and  by 
him  was  beheaded.      Herod  suffered   some  remorse  over  this 


AMONG  THE    HILLS   OF   GALILEE 


167 


bloody  deed,  and  when  he  heard  of  Jesus,  wondered  if  he  was 
not  John  the  Baptist,  risen  from  the  dead.  He  had  no  Httle 
curiosity  concerning  Jesus,  and  finally  met  him  on  the  morn- 
ing of  his  crucifixion.      Pilate,  who  had   been   at  enmity  with 


TKLL  HI  M;   SHUKRKV  IN  Till-:  FOREGROUND 


Herod,  took  advantage  of  the  latter's  presence  in  Jeru- 
.salem  by  sending  Jesus  to  him  under  pretense  of  respect  for 
Herod's  jurisdiction  over  a  resident  of  his  own  tetrarchy. 
Thus  he  conciliated  Herod,  who  appreciated  the  compliment, 
but  did  not  succeed  as  he  had  hoped  in  the  evasion  of  respon- 
sibility for  the  death  of  Christ. 

It   is  not  known  that  our  Lord  ever  v'isitcd    lihcrias;    there 


i68        TiiK  oi.n  woRi.n  in   riii:  new  century 

was  a  stimii;  prejudice  against  it  in  his  ila\'  because  a  cemetery 
hael  been  exhumed  to  make  room  for  it. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  city  He  the  famous  hot  baths  for 
which  the  cit\-  was  so  noted  in  ancient  times.  The  tempera- 
ture of  the  water  is  about  144°  Fahrenheit.  It  is  very  salt 
and  bitter,  w  ith  a  smell  of  sulphur,  and  is  said  to  be  good  for 
rheumatism  and  other  ills.  The  deposit  consists  largely  of  the 
various  carbonates  with  a  minute  proportion  of  muriatic  salts. 
The  baths  were  the  famous  natural  feature  of  the  place,  and 
by  reason  of  them  in  time  even  Jews  found  residence  there. 
They  came  at  length  to  possess  thirteen  synagogues  there, 
and  to  count  the  place  one  of  the  four  sacred  cities. 

The  climate  of  Tiberias  is  beautiful  in  the  spring,  but  very 
hot  in  summer,  and  the  town  is  far  from  being  healthy  to  live 
in.  It  lies  682  feet  below  the  level  of  the  Mediterranean, 
and  the  surrounding  hills,  1,000  feet  in  height,  shut  out  the 
invigorating  breezes. 

In  Herod's  day  the  city  wall  was  three  miles  long,  and 
was  strengthened  by  a  castle.  It  was  this  castle  that  pre- 
served Tiberias.  It  was  the  one  defensible  place  on  the  shore 
of  the  lake,  and  caused  the  city  to  be  preserved  when  Caper- 
naum, Bethsaida  and  Chorazin  were  destroyed.  Josephus, 
when  in  command  in  Galilee,  fortified  Tiberias,  but  the  town 
surrendered  to  Vespasian,  who  came  against  it  with  three 
legions  of  his  troops.  At  the  same  time  Kerak,  otherwise 
known  as  Tarichea,  an  important  town  on  the  lake  side 
farther  to  the  south,  was  taken  in  a  desperate  fight.  At  this 
time  the  little  lake  actually  witnessed  a  naval  battle,  in  which 
the  Jews  were  defeated  with  great  mortality.  Six  thousand 
five  hundred  Jews  fell  in  this  battle  of  Kerak,  and  twelve 
hundred  more,  who  were  captured,  were  put  to  death  by  the 
Romans  at  Tiberias. 

After  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  Tiberias  became  the 
center  of  Jewish  scholarship,  and  many  famous  scribes  and 
doctors  are  buried  in  the  city.  Here,  two  hundred  years  after 
Christ,  the  Mishna  was  completed,  and  a  hundred  years  later 
the  Jerusalem  Talmud.     From  these  men  we  have  the  so-called 


AMONG  THE    HILLS   OF   GALILEE  169 

Masoretic  text  of  Scripture,  which  was  finally  fixed  under  the 
influence  of  Rabbi  Aaron  ben-Moses  ben-Asher.  This  school 
also  passed  upon  some  intricate  questions  of  the  old  Hebrew 
canon,  as  the  canonicity  of  Esther  and  the  Song  of  Solomon. 

Not  only  do  we  get  our  modern  Hebrew  texts  from 
Tiberias,  but  indirectly  we  have  our  Latin  translation  from 
this  city  also;  for  it  was  a  student  of  Tiberias  from  whom  St. 
Jerome  learned  Hebrew,  and  so  translated  the  Old  Testament 
into  the  Vulgate.  Christianity,  which  early  obtained  a  foot- 
hold here,  found  much  opposition  in  the  early  heathenism, 
and  the  later  Judaism  of  the  city,  but  flourished  notwithstand- 
ing. By  the  fifth  century  there  were  Christian  bishops  in 
Tiberias.  The  Arabs  conquered  the  town  in  ^'^'J ,  but  the 
bishopric  was  reestablished  by  the  Crusaders,  but  made  sub- 
ordinate to  that  of  Nazareth. 

Tiberias  is  noted  for  its  fleas.  It  is  a  saying  old  as  the 
city  and  quoted  in  every  guide-book  that  the  king  of  fleas 
lives  at  Tiberias.  Our  party  did  not  escape  his  royal  flea- 
ness,  but  we  suffered  more  in  some  other  places.  The  Pales- 
tine flea  is  small,  but  industrious.  Beside  him,  the  little  busy 
bee  is  a  sluggard.  The  bee  at  least  suspends  operations  dur- 
ing the  night;  but  the  flea,  after  a  hard  day's  work,  is  as 
ready  for  a  night  crusade  as  if  he  had  rested  the  whole  day 
long.  Per-sian  insect  powder  discourages  the  flea  somewhat, 
and  is  a  good  thing  for  a  tourist  to  take  anywhere  in  Egypt 
or  Palestine.  I  had  also  a  powder  which  smelled  of  cloves, 
and  which  I  dusted  out  through  a  pepper-box  upon  the  bed 
and  baggage  and  about  my  shoe-tops.  I  am  inclined  to  thiiil': 
that  it  was  a  protection,  and  I  should  think  that  some  ground 
cloves  added  to  any  reliable  insect  powder  would  be  worth 
trying.  I  am  far  from  i)romising  that  this  or  any  other  powder 
will  secure  complete  immunity  from  ( )ricntal  fleas,  but  a  lialf- 
loaf  is  better  than  no  bread. 

At  Tiberias  is  a  .Scotch  Presbyterian  mission  willi  three 
good  buildings,  one  of  them  a  hospit.il.  Two  cases  in  the 
male  ward  may  be  of  interest.  ( )ne  was  a  man  whose  camel 
had    j)ickc(l    him  u])  with    Iiis   tet'th,   taking    liini  1)\-  tlic    knee. 


170 


THE   OLD    WORLD    IN     IHE    NEW   CEXlim' 


is  savins  little 


sliakini;  him  like  a  rat.  ami  throwint;'  liiiii  into  a  cactus  hedge. 
This  shows  that  the  camel  is  not  al\\a\s  the  patient  creature 
of  the  stor\--books ;  it  does  not  show,  what  I  suspect,  that  the 
camel  has  abundant  provocation.  The  Syrians  are  said  to  be 
more  kind  to  their  camels  than  to  any  other  animals,  but  that 
The  men  are  cruel  to  their  beasts.      Without 

knowing  the  merits  of  the 
case  in  hand,  my  sympa- 
thies are  with  the  revolt- 
ing camel.  I  shall  wel- 
come any  news  of  a  revolt 
among  overburdened  don- 
keys, goaded  oxen,  and 
pack  mules  driven  by  the 
casting  of  stones. 

The  other  case  was  that 
of  a  Moslem  robber.  He 
was  attempting  to  rob  a 
Christian  village  and  was 
shot,  and  then  brought  to 
a  Christian  hospital  to  be 
treated.  This  illustrates 
how  various  are  the  means 
of  grace.  I  do  not  know 
how  grateful  this  bandit  is, 
but  a  similar  case  was  in 
the  same  hospital  not  long  ago,  and  when  he  was  discharged 
he  agreed  to  present  the  hospital  with  a  cow,  which  he  had 
learned  that  they  needed.  He  was  as  good  as  his  word,  and 
soon  stole  a  cow  from  another  Christian  village  and  drove  her 
to  the  hospital.  It  can  hardly  be  expected  that  every  case 
treated  in  the  hospital  should  result  in  an  equal  exhibition  of 
gratitude. 

They  gave  me  the  figures  about  the  hospital — the  number 
of  patients  inside,  those  visited  in  homes,  and  those  treated 
in  the  dispensary.  I  forgot-  them  all,  and  it  matters  little. 
The  work   is  a  good  one,  and  there  is  a  good  deal  of  it,  and 


LANDING   AT    KHAN    MINVEH 


AMONG   THE    HILLS   OF    GALILEE 


lyr 


none  too  much;  for  the  multitude,  diseased,  hungry,  and  in 
need,  are  still  there,  and  the  problem  of  helping  them  presses 
one  sore. 

The  sea  of  Galilee  is  thirteen  miles  long  and  about  six  in 
average  width.  Its  greatest  breadth  is  eight  miles.  Its  shape 
has  been  compared  to  that  of  a  harp,  with  the  northern  end 
the  larger,  and  the  bulge 
to  the  west.  Its  northern 
end  is  more  open  to  the 
wind,  the  southern  end  is 
more  confined  by  the  hills 
that  define  the  Jordan 
Sforcfe.  The  industries  of 
the  Lake  of  Galilee  in 
Christ's  day  were  agricul- 
ture and  fruit  growing, 
dyeing  and  tanning,  fish- 
ing and  boat-building. 
The  lake  was  full  of  fish, 
and  the  fishing  business, 
which  was  very  profitable, 
was  mostly  pursued  at  the 
north  end  of  the  lake. 
The  principal  fish  is  a  kind 
of  mullet,  and  still  abounds 
in  the  lake.  We  ate  them 
while  we  camped  on  the  shore,  and  found  them  delicious  and 
wholesome.  We  drank  the  lake  water  and  found  it  pure  and 
refreshing.  The  rabbis  were  accustomed  to  say,  "Jehovah 
hath  created  several  seas,  but  the  Sea  of  Gennesaret  is  his 
delight." 

It  was  a  bright  forenoon  when  we  set  foilli  for  a  sail  on 
the  blue  expanse  of  the  .Sea  of  Galilee.  A  more  delightful 
and  exhilarating  voyage  we  can  hardly  expect  to  enjoy  again. 
From  Tiberias  we  sailed  directly  to  Tell  Hum,  supposed  by 
many  to  have  been  the  site  of  ancient  Capernaum.  Our 
large   company  <[uitc  niono])()li/,c(l   llu-  a\^'lilal)le   Ijoats,  v\liich 


EMBARKING   AT   "  SEVEN   SPRINGS 


i;-'         -mi:  olh  woki.d  in    riii-.  m:\v  century 

had  boon  socui'cil  iov  us  somo  time  hcftMx-liaiul.  \W  the 
in\-itation  of  Shiila'oy,  1  acconipaniotl  him  in  the  boat  which 
he  kept  back  until  the  hist,  and  a  vcvy  trim  little  vessel  it 
proved  to  be.  There  was  not  a  l)reath  of  wind  when  we  first 
started,  and  the  four  boatmen  pulled  hard  at  the  oars.  I 
offered  to  take  the  helm,  and  when  the  men  found  that  I  could 
manage  it,  they  were  pleased,  for  they  had  set  out  to  bo  the 
first  boat  in,  and  they  appreciated  all  help  that  left  them  free 
with  the  oars.  About  two  miles  out  from  I'iborias  a  fresh 
breeze  struck  the  lake,  and  we  and  the  other  boats  shook  out 
our  sails  and  sped  along  with  the  wind  over  the  quarter. 
Our  boat  proved  able  to  sail  a  point  or  two  nearer  the  wind 
than  any  other  of  the  fleet,  and  to  be  a  better  boat  than  most 
of  them.  Hesides  these  advantages,  it  was  finely  manned, 
while  some  of  the  other  boatmen  w^ere  manifestly  lazy.  So 
we  sat  on  the  gunwale  and  held  the  boat  down  w'hile  the  sail- 
ors pulled  the  sheet  taut.  I  threw  a  few  dipperfuls  of  water 
on  the  sail,  and  the  boatmen  were  pleased  to  see  that  I  knew 
this  method  of  increasing  the  speed,  and  shouted,  "Very 
good." 

We  sailed  to  Tell  Hum,  and  were  the  first  boat  to  land. 
The  remains  of  a  Christian  church  are  here,  in  which  are  still 
more  ancient  materials,  probably  from  a  Jewish  synagogue, 
believed  by  many  to  have  been  the  one  mentioned  in  Luke 
7:5,  and  the  one  where  Jesus  preached  and  wrought  his 
miracles.  The  absence  of  any  such  fountain  as  Josephus 
describes  in  Capernaum,  is  believed  by  George  Adam  Smith 
and  others  to  militate  against  this  site,  and  these  scholars 
favor  Khan  Alinyeh,  on  the  most  northern  edge  of  the  lake. 

Tell  Hum  is  in  charge  of  the  Franciscan  monks,  who 
received  us  cordially.  I  have  a  photograph  of  the  low  monas- 
tery, with  one  of  the  monks  waiting  to  receive  us.  In  the 
foreground   is  Shukrey,  whose  portrait  I   am  glad  to  include. 

At  Tell  Hum  is  a  sty  with  some  pigs  in  it,  kept  by  the 
monks  —  an  unfamiliar  sight  here  since  the  day  when  the 
swine  ran  down  a  steep  place  into  the  sea. 

Tell    Hum    is  the  only   place  on  the  lake  where  there   is 


AMONG   THE    HILLS   OF   GALILEE 


73 


an  attempt  to  identify  ruins  associated  with  Christ's  minis- 
try. The  remains  of  the  old  synagogue,  if  it  be  such,  are 
buried,  but  one  may  see  a  few  large  carved  stones. 

Leaving  Tell  Hum,  we  rowed  against  the  wind  to  'Ain  et- 
Tabigha,  the  place  of  Seven  Springs.  Here  we  went  ashore, 
and  walked  around   the  old  aqueduct  to  Khan  Minyeh,  which 


TRAIMTIONAL   SITE    OF   BETHSAIDA 

many  scholars  believe  to  have  been  Capernaum,  and  that 
largely  because  of  the  springs  and  aqueduct ;  and  also  because 
it  best  answers  to  the  conditions  described  in  the  accounts  of 
the  feeding  of  the  five  thousand,  and  the  movements  of  the 
people  around  the  lake  in  connection  with  that  incident. 

Taking  boat  again,  we  came  down  by  Magdala,  the  present 
el  Mcjdel.       There  is  no  doubt  about  the  identity  of  the  home 
town  of  Mary  Magdalene,  that  most  slandered  woman  of  his 
tory,  whose  insanity  has  been  assumed,  without  the  slightest 
foundation,  to    have  been  prof)f  of   her  immorality.      P>iit    ihe 


174  THl".    Ol.V    \\OK\.\)    IN     llli:    XKW    CENTURY 

three  cities  wliicli  Cliiist  clencninced,  because  in  them  had 
been  wrought  his  niii^htiest  works  and  they  had  not  beheved 
the  truth.  ha\e  utterl\-  x'anishetl,  and  we  cannot  be  ([uite  cer- 
tain of  the  site  of  any  one  of  tlieni.  Chorazin,  Ik^thsaida, 
and  Capernaum,  whicli  his  work  exalted  unto  heaven,  have 
been  cast  down  to  destruction.  We  only  know  that  the  vari- 
ous ruins  alon^  the  shore  mark  the  sites  of  those  once 
populous  towns,  but  which  ruin  denotes  any  given  one  of  the 
three  we  do  not  know,  and  apparently  cannot  learn. 

Again  our  boatmen  took  the  oars  and  started  on  the  long 
homeward  pull.  They  kept  together  by  means  of  the  rhythm 
of  a  song  which  they  sung  with  exceedingly  little  variation  in 
words  or  music.      The  burden  of  the  latter  was: 

"  Henna  gacl,  henna,  henna!" 

and  the  oars  were  pulled  with  the  stroke  on  the  heaviest 
accent.  The  song,  as  Shukrey  interpreted  it,  had  something 
to  do  with  the  use  of  henna  as  a  pigment  for  painting  the 
finger  nails,  and  implied  its  use  by  a  bride,  the  singer  warning 
some  one  that  he  would  become  his  implacable  enemy  if  he 
brought  the  henna.  After  a  while  the  wind  rose,  and  we 
hoisted  the  sail  and  sped  homeward  before  the  breeze  that 
rose  as  the  sun  declined.  It  came  in  capfuls  and  irregularly, 
unlike  the  stiff  wind  before  which  we  had  sped  on  our  north- 
ern journey.  So  the  men  used  the  oars  at  intervals,  but  when 
the  sail  went  up  for  the  last  time  they  leaned  back  and  rested, 
and  sang  another  song,  in  which  they  gave  thanks  to  Allah, 
who  had  brought  the  good  ship  safe  back  to  harbor  again,  and 
we  went  to  our  tents  and  to  our  dinner  of  Gennesaret  fish, 
invigorated  and  rewarded  by  the  experiences  of  the  day. 

It  requires  no  religious  enthusiasm  to  invest  with  beauty 
the  region  about  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  It  is  truly  a  beautiful 
country.  There  are  few  trees,  and  their  absence  is  sorely  felt ; 
yet  here  and  there  stand  groves  of  olives  with  their  grateful 
shade.  The  hills  beyond  arc  barren,  but  those  on  the  nearer 
side  are  fertile;  some  wave  with  grain,  but  in  others  the 
plow  and   the  sower   are  busy,    and   along  the  way  the  wild- 


AMONG   THE    HILLS   OF   GALILEE  175 

flowers  are  abundant  and  beautiful;  so  the  setting  has  suffi- 
cient verdure  and  contrast  to  make  the  nearer  view  deh'ghtful. 
But  when  one  takes  it  in  its  perspective,  it  grows  upon  one  to 
the  point  of  complete  satisfaction,  and  the  weary  rider  looks 
irom  the  blue  lake  below  to  the  blue  hills. beyond,  and  from 
the  green  fields  at  hand  to  the  seared  and  snowy  crest  of 
Hermon,  with  its  crown  of  glistening  white,  and  cries  in  his 
own  soul:  "This  is  the  Galilee  of  my  imagination,  but  more 
beautiful !  This  spot  is  worthy  of  all  the  sublime  deeds  which 
it  witnessed  when  these  hills  and  shores  were  trod  by  Jesus  of 
Nazareth !" 

I  cannot  imagine  why  writers  describe  this  scene  so  calmly, 
unless  it   is  that,  coming  to  it,  as  most  of  them  do,  from  the 
long   and    dreary    ride    across    the    Samarian    hills,    they   are 
fatigued   beyond   the   power  of    enthusiasm.      For   myself,    1 
have   never  read   any  description  of  the  scene   that  seems   at 
all   adequate,  and    I  am   conscious  how  far   short  this   hurried 
sketch   must    fall.      But   while    many  scenes    in    Palestine   are 
picturesque,  attractive,  or  of  such   historic   interest  as  to  stir 
one's  emotions,  this  alone  of  all  that    I  saw  seemed  to  mc  to 
deserve  the  adjective  sublime.      It  combines  every  element  of 
landscape  beauty,  of  scenic  grandeur,  of  varied   color  and  of 
historic    interest    necessary   to    kindle    the    imagination    and 
satisfy  the  ideal,  and  leave  on  the  memory  an  indelible  picture 
of  the  best  that  can  be  seen  in  Palestine.      Jordan,  when  one 
comes   near   it,   is   a   muddy   stream,    narrow   and    uninviting. 
Jerusalem,  however  imposing  in   the  distance,  is  a   filthy  and 
commonplace  town  within.      Other  sacred  spots  are  overgrown 
with  superstition,  or  disgraced  by  cupidity,  or  defiled  by  unhal- 
lowed  associations,  but   the   Sea   of   Galilee   lies,  as   it   lay  in 
Jesus'  fjwn  day,  enshrined  in  the  shores  he  trod,  and  sparkling 
in  beauty  such  as  gladdened   his  eye.      it   is  the  least   spoiled 
and    the   most    beautiful   and    sacred  spot    in    i'alestine.      The 
Sea  of  Galilee  witnessed  his  mature  deeds  and  sublime  words, 
and  its  associations  are  more   intimate  with  specific   incidents 
in   his   life,    while   its   varied    pieturcsqueness   appeals   to   the 
esthetic   sense.      To  one  with  no   religious  intiiest,  the  scene 


176 


rilK    OLD    WORLD    IN     lllK    NKW   CENTURY 


is  one  of   rare  beaut}-;    to  one  \\h(i   has  tliis  interest   also,  it  is 
sublime. 

1  brought  from  tiiis  spot  one  dee]i  impression  of  the  intlu- 
ence  of  Jesus  on  the  lives  of  the  men  he  met.  1  looked  at 
our  four  swarthy  boatmen,  and  tried  to  fit  their  features  into 
gilt  frames  as  apostles;  I  saw  the  fishermen  washing  their 
nets,  and  tried  to  imagine  them  with  halos;  and  failing  in 
this.  I  tried  to  make  real  to  myself  the  transforming  force 
that  made  such  men  as  these  same  fishermen  the  preachers 
and  teachers  and  evangelists  of  nineteen  centuries.  I  am 
confident  that  no  twelve  fishermen  now  in  Galilee  could 
duplicate  the  Christian  religion. 


THE    WHARF   AT   TELL-HLM.      PETEK,   JAMES,    AM)   JOHN    OF   TO-DAY 


CHAPTER  XII 
A    RIDE    THROUGH    SAMARIA 

The  most  direct  route  from  Nazareth  through  Samaria  Hes 
by  way  of  Jenin,  Sebaste  and  Nablus.  From  Nazareth  to 
Jenin  the  ride  is  seven  hours,  and  it  is  seven  farther  to  Nablus. 
For  ordinary  riding,  it  means  two  days,  and  in  each  day  four 
hours  in  the  morning  and  three  in  the  afternoon.  Here  h'es 
the  roughest  part  of  the  journey  through  the  Holy  Land. 
The  road  from  Nazareth  to  Jenin  lies  across  the  plain  of 
Jezreel,  a  plain  of  allu\ial  limestone  soil  of  great  depth.  One 
wonders  where  the  people  live  who  cultivate  that  great  plain, 
for  few  houses  appear,  and  the  villages  are  far  apart,  and 
apparently  small;  but  the  people  are  in  the  villages,  and  go 
an  hour,  or  two  hours  if  necessary,  to  the  field.  Such  a 
plain  could  be  cultivated  with  modern  machinery,  but  none 
is  used. 

Caravans  are  less  frequent  here  than  toward  Damascus; 
still  they  are  met  with  occasionally.  Those  coming  inward 
from  the  coast  bear  grain  and  kerosene  oil.  llic  latter  is  in 
five-gallon  cans,  two  cans  in  a  box;  and  while  some  is  from 
America,  more  comes  from  Russia.  One  sees  these  boxes 
oftener  than  any  other  empty  cases  in  Palestine.  Ohve  oil  is 
more  expensive  to  burn,  and  petroleum  is  slowly  making  its 
way,  though  candles  are  still  the  staple  light-producers.  In 
many  places  one  sees  tlie  Palestine  maidens  carrying  water  from 
the  spring  in  their  American  or  Russian  cans.  It  is  a  strange 
twist  of  civilization  by  which  the  Yankee  coal-oil  can  has  dis- 
placed the  ancient  water-pot  on  the  he. id  of  an  old  Old  Testa- 
ment Rebecca  of  to-day. 

The  roads  across  the  plain  of  Jezreel  are  fairly  good,  except 
just  after  a  rain,  when  they  are  almost  impassable,  or  in  times 
when    the   dust   is  bluwn    !»}•  hot  winds.      When    the    plain    is 

177 


i;-"^  11  IK  OLD  WORLD  IN    1111,  m:\\   ci:NruKY 

once  crossed  aiul  tlu-  hill}'  ciMiiitiy  hc-^ins.  the  roads  become 
exceediiiLiiy  difticult,  and  sonieliiues  appear  tlangerous. 

The  \-illaL;e  oi  Nain  lies  luit  far  from  the  Nazareth  road. 
It  is  a  small,  pocM'  collection  of  huts,  but  one  cannot  ride 
through  it  without  remembering  the  one  scene  in  its  history 
which  has  come  down  to  us — the  sad  procession  that  came 
out  of  its  gate  bearing  the  body  of  the  widow's  son,  and  tlie 
glad  return  after  Jesus  hatl  stoppetl  the  bier  and  called  the 
young  man  back  to  life   (^Luke  7:  1  1-15)- 

Near  hv  lies  Shunem,  where  the  Prophet  Elisha  had 
an  occasional  home  (2  Kings  4:  8).  Here  lived  the  one 
woman  whom  the  Bible  calls  "a  great  woman."  These  were 
the  elements  in  her  greatness:  she  was  domestic,  business- 
like, energetic  and  religious.  It  was  she  who  established  the 
prophet's  chamber,  and  thus  became  a  patron  saint  and  proto- 
type of  those  w^ho  practice  religious  hospitality.  She  was  the 
mother  of  the  child  who  suffered  sunstroke,  and  whom  the 
prophet  restored  to  life  and  health. 

Here,  also,  lived  the  heroine  of  Solomon's  song,  who  was 
a  Shulamite.  (Song  of  Solomon  6:  13).  Perhaps  no  portion 
of  Scripture  has  been  so  manifestly  misinterpreted  as  this 
honeymoon  song  of  the  Bible,  which  becomes  simply  impos- 
sible as  a  religious  allegory,  but  which  is  sweet  and  wholesome 
as  a  song  of  pure  love.  The  Shulamite  girl,  taken  to  Jeru- 
salem and  wooed  by  Solomon,  who  seeks  her  for  his  harem, 
remains  true  to  her  shepherd  lover,  whom,  sleeping  or  waking, 
her  steadfast  heart  seeks,  and  to  whom  at  length,  having 
shown  herself  proof  against  the  blandishments  of  the  rich  old 
king,  and  the  enticements  of  the  women  of  his  court,  she  is 
restored.  The  town  itself  is  nothing  to  boast  of,  but  the 
region  about  it  is  picturesque,  and  it  is  pleasant  to  visit  a 
place  associated  with  the  memories  of  two  such  women  as  the 
dark  but  comely  virgin  of  Canticles,  and  the  womanly  house- 
wife and  mother  who  opened  her  doors  for  the  prophet  of  old. 

By  riding  an  hour  farther  on,  one  may  visit  Endor,  where 
Saul  consulted  the  witch  on  the  night  before  the  battle  of 
Gilboa,     in     which     he     lost     his    life    (i     Samuel     28:7-20). 


A    RIDE    THROUGH    SAMARIA 


179 


Eusebius,  the  father  of  church  history,  speaks  of  Endor  as  a 
large  village  in  his  day,  but  it  is  now  a  poor  and  wretched 
place.  It  is  a  pathetic  memory,  this  of  the  close  of  Saul's 
life — a  life  full  of  strong  elements  and  of  strange  inconsist- 
encies. The  very  man  who  had  attempted  to  drive  witch- 
craft from  his  kingdom  found  him- 
self constrained,  when  surrounded 
by  the  armies  of  his  enemies,  to 
seek  the  help  of  a  witch;  and  he 
who  had  disregarded  the  advice  of 
the  living  Samuel  sought  to  ob- 
tain counsel  from  the  shade  of  the 
dead  prophet. 

Not  far  from  Gilboa,  on  the 
left  of  the  road,  is  Gideon's  fount- 
ain, so  called,  where  an  unsup- 
ported tradition  locates  the  scene 
of  the  lapping  of  Gideon's  soldiers 
on  their  way  to  battle,  as  de- 
scribed in  Judges  vii. 

We  soon  came  to  a  scene  of 
undoubted  genuineness.  Zerin, 
with  its  mud  wall  and  its  thick 
growth  of  cactus,  is  the  ancient 
Jezrecl.  This  was  an  important 
city  of  the  northern  kingdom  in 
the  days  following  the  death  of 
Saul,  when  Saul's  son,  Ishbosheth, 
was    contending    with    David    for 

the  kingdom  (2  Sam.  2:8-9).  During  the  years  when  this 
strife  continued,  David  reigned  as  king  of  Judah,  and  Ishbo- 
sheth held  sway  here  over  the  northern  tribes.  Jerusalem 
was  still  in  the  hands  of  tiic  Jcbusites.  But  David  finally 
captured  it,  and  established  there  the  capital  of  the  united 
kingdom. 

Here   Ahab   and    Jezebel    built   their   marble    palace,    and 
here  occurred  the  murder  of  Naboth,  that  bloody  deed,  which 


KAKSIIISH  1 


l8o  llll'.   (HA)  WOK  1,1)   IN    rill.    \i:\\    ckntukv 

for  its  trcacluM)-  ami  violation  o(  tlie  ancient  provision  for 
the  inalienability  of  the  soil,  so  shocked  the  j)eople  of  Israel. 
The  site  of  the  vineyard  of  Naboth  is  still  pointed  out,  though 
of  course  it  is  more  conjecture;  and  the  one  tower-like  struc- 
ture in  the  present  village,  very  modern  in  its  appearance,  is 
shown  to  visitors  as  containing  the  window  from  which  Jezebel 
was  thrown  down  to  be  trampled  by  Jehu's  chariot  and  left 
for  dogs  to  eat. 

The  dogs  are  still  there,  equal  to  any  task  like  that  they 
performed  on  Jezebel's  body.  The  whole  population  streamed 
out  and  demanded  bakshish.  The  one  thing  that  children 
are  good  for  in  Palestine  is  begging.  "Bakshish"  seems  to 
be  the  first  word  learned  by  any  Palestine  infant,  and  before 
he  is  old  enough  to  say  the  word,  he  is  used  as  a  pretext  for 
its  employment  by  some  older  person.  A  woman  who  sees 
a  tourist  coming,  and  is  herself  so  sturdy  and  vigorous  as 
manifestly  to  be  in  no  need  of  bakshish,  catches  up  the  first 
baby  she  can  find  and  rushes  upon  the  stranger. 

It  is  impossible  to  comply  with  all  these  requests,  and 
hard  to  refuse  or  even  to  discriminate.  One  must  give  now 
and  then  at  a  venture  for  his  own  heart's  sake,  if  for  no  other 
reason.  But  of  one  thing  I  am  confident— the  giving  of 
bakshish  is  not  the  remedy  for  the  poverty  of  the  country. 
It  has  made  nations  of  beggars  in  the  Orient. 

I  had  here  an  illustration  of  the  futility  of  indiscriminate 
almsgiving.  We  were  riding  through  Jezreel,  and  dismounted 
in  the  middle  of  the  forenoon  at  the  site  of  Ahab's  palace. 
I  had  a  bottle  of  malted  milk  lunch  tablets  on  my  saddle,  and 
began  to  distribute  a  few  among  the  members  of  our  party. 
A  mother  with  a  wan  baby  pressed  near,  and  I  gave  her  a 
few.  Instantly  I  was  surrounded  by  a  mob  of  youngsters 
demanding  the  tablets.  I  gave  them  right  and  left  till  the 
bottle  was  empty.  A  snap-shot  of  the  scene  would  have 
made  a  fine  advertisement  for  the  tablets.  But  this  was  the 
result — the  strong  fought  the  weak  and  secured  their  portion, 
and  came  up  with  one  hand  outstretched  and  the  other  behind 
them,  begging  for  more.      I  left  the  whole  juvenile  portion  of 


A   RIDE   THROUGH    SAMARIA  iSi 

Jezreel  fighting  and  sobbing,  and  hastened  away  lest  I  should 
be  arrested  for  attempting  to  poison  the  village.  Thereupon 
I  took  thought  and  resolved  not  to  indulge  again  in  indis- 
criminate charity.  Nevertheless  I  still  pity  the  hungry  multi- 
tude.     They  are  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  and  it  saddens 


l'L()\\IN{;    IN    PALESTINE 
Photograph  by  Mrs.  F.  B.  Newell 

one  to  think  that  the  land  where  Jesus  lived  and  which  he 
loved  receives  so  little  of  the  benefit  which  has  come  to  the 
world  from  his  life  among  men. 

There  is  some  fertile  country  about  Jezreel,  though  it 
becomes  more  hilK',  and  the  farmers  were  plowing  in  the  fields 
and  on  the  hillsides.  The  plow  is  of  the  same  primitive  type 
used  in  Scripture  days.  llic  plowman  holds  to  the  single 
handle,  and  when  he  has  put  his  hand  to  the  plow,  he  cannot 
well   look  back  if    lie  intends  to  keej)  the   share  in  tlie  furrow. 


1^2  lllK    Ol-n    WOKl.D    IN     llll'.    M:\V    CEN'ITUN' 

It  is  as  primitive  an  iniplcnu'iit  as  could  well  be  devised,  but 
is  said  to  be  well  adapted  to  the  soil.  Recent  immigrants 
who  have  imported  plows  of  foreii^n  manufacture  have  not 
been  successful  with  their  crops.  Now  and  then,  when  the 
plain  is  broad,  as  in  the  valley  of  Jezreel,  we  found  a  number 
of  vokes  of  oxen,  each  with  its  plow,  following  one  another 
in  their  furrow,  as  they  did  when  Elijah  went  to  call  Klisha 
and  found  him  the  last  of  the  twelve.  Rarely,  but  still  occa- 
sionally, one  sees  an  ox  and  an  ass  yoked  together,  in  spite  of 
the  prohibition  in  the  law  of  Moses  (Deut.  22:  lo).  In  the 
fields  where  the  wheat  is  up,  women  are  at  work  gathering 
out  the  tares;  but  this  work  must  be  done  before  the  wheat 
is  high,  lest  with  the  tares  the  grain  also  be  uprooted. 
Almost  every  custom,  as  we  observed  it,  vividly  recalls  some 
word  of  Scripture,  and  the  tourist  will,  if  he  is  wise,  carry 
his  Baedeker's  "Palestine  and  Syria"  in  one  pocket,  and  a 
reference  Bible  in  the  other,  and  will  find  himself  constantly 
turning  from  one  to  the  other.  Charles  Dudley  Warner,  in 
his  book  "In  the  Levant,"  pauses  a  moment  in  the  midst  of 
his  Scripture  references  to  say  that  the  reader  has  doubtless 
discovered  that  the  real  purpose  of  the  book  is  to  compel  those 
who  read  his  descriptions  to  read  the  Bible.  Certain  it  is 
that  one  cannot  visit  these  scenes  intelligently  without  con- 
stant reference  to  the  Scriptures. 

We  learn  in  a  short  time  to  accept  our  surroundings  and 
forget  the  superfluous  luxuries  of  other  days,  but  sometimes 
an  unexpected  reminder  of  what  we  lack  comes  home  with 
unutterable  sadness.  We  dismounted  one  evening  in  Samaria, 
tired,  hungry  and  thirsty,  and  started  to  refresh  ourselves 
with  the  moderately  cool  water  in  the  jars. 

"Oh,  for  an  ice-cream  soda!"  exclaimed  one  young  lady; 
and  the  rest  with  one  voice  cried  out  against  her,  as  one  who 
had  forfeited  the  right  to  live.  None  of  them  had  thought 
of  it  before,  but  no  one  could  forget  it  afterward.  The 
thought  was  as  tantalizing  as  the  sight  of  a  boy  sucking  a 
lemon  before  the  eyes  of  a  little  German  band.  For  days 
afterward   the  other  girls   brought  railing   accusations  against 


A   RIDE    THROUGH   SAMARIA 


183 


this  one  of  their  number  for  her  indiscreet  reminder  of  an 
absent  luxury.  I  am  confident  that,  whatever  the  rest  of  the 
party  did,  every  girl  of  the  Samaria  party  made  a  rush  for  a 
soda  fountain  as  soon  as  she  escaped  the  custom-house  in  New 
York. 

Not  all  the  principal  villages  of  to-day  are  located  on  the 
sites  of  the  ancient  cities  of  Palestine.  Jenin  is  an  important 
camping-place,  for  the  water  is  good,  and  there  are  open 
places  near  the  town  where  tents  may  be  pitched,  and  olive 
groves  near  by  for  shade.  It  is  called  in  the  Bible  Engannim, 
or  "garden  spring"  (Josh.  19:  21;  21:29).  It  is  quite  an 
important  town,  and  the  seat  of  government  of  a  number  of 
villages  on  the  borders  of  Galilee  and  Samaria.  It  was  a  pleas- 
ant Sunday  when  we  were  there,  and  the  governor  of  the  vil- 
lage sent  his  son,  a  physician  who  had  studied  in  the  American 


ii.i.i:(.Ai.  .\(.i<i(  I  i.TURi-: 

Photogrnph  by  Miss  A.  M.  Matthews 


^"^4  'I'HK    Ol.n    WOKl  1)    IN     llli:    M.W     CENTURY 

colloL^'o  at  IxM'rut,  accc^inpanicd  by  a  youuL;-  student  compan- 
ion, to  present  liis  coniplinicnts  to  our  camp,  and  invite  a 
delct^ation  to  \  isit  him.  I'he  s^cn-ernor's  liousc,  which  is  plain 
onoiii;"h  lookini;  from  the  outside,  is  comfortable,  though  not 
luxurious,  within.  The  governor  .speak.s  a  little  l^'rench  and 
his  son  speaks  more.  lie  had  read  of  our  great  ship,  was 
interested  in  our  large  compan\-,  and  expressed  appreciation 
of  our  \isit  to  his  territory.  We  thanked  him  for  his  cour- 
tesy, praised  the  appearance  of  his  soldiers,  and  the  good 
order  which  we  observed  in  the  village.  At  the  outset  he 
ofTered  us  cigarettes.  Those  of  us  who  called  upon  him  were 
mostly  ministers,  and  few  of  us  smokers,  but  we  let  the  ser- 
vant light  the  little  cigars,  as  we  understood  it  to  be  courtesy 
to  do  so.  Most  of  us  let  them  go  out  immediately.  Turkish 
coffee  came  afterward.  It  takes  some  time  to  make  a  call  in 
state  in  the  Orient.  Soon  after  our  return  to  camp  the  gover- 
nor's son  and  the  student  came  to  return  our  call,  and  to  pay 
the  governor's  compliments  again. 

While  we  were  meeting  the  governor,  the  governor's  wife, 
with  some  other  Turkish  ladies,  received  some  of  the  ladies 
of  the  camp  at  a  point  a  little  remote  from  the  road  toward 
the  village.  No  men  were  invited  to  this  reception.  The 
ladies  were  unable  to  carry  on  any  extended  conversation,  but 
described  the  governor's  wife  as  pleasant  and  attractive.  She 
and  the  ladies  with  her  were  very  much  interested  in  the 
camp,  which,  however,  they  could  not  visit  because  there 
were  men  there.  These  ladies,  face  to  face  with  our  ladies, 
uncovered  their  own  faces.  Had  they  met  us  they  would 
have  veiled  themselves  closely  and  beat  a  retreat.  One  ques- 
tion the  governor's  wife  made  our  ladies  understand.  Had 
they  no  homes?  She  could  not  understand  why,  if  they  had, 
they  were  wandering  thus. 

The  veil  that  is  worn  by  Mohammedan  women  in  Pales- 
tine is  inexpressibly  hideous.  It  is  made  of  thin,  figured 
goods,  wrought  in  designs  of  flowers  and  foliage.  These 
spots  of  leaves  and  petals  appearing  where  one  expects  to  see 
human    features,  have   a   suggestion  of  disease   or  deformity, 


A    RIDE    THROUGH   SAMARIA 


185 


from  which  one  cannot  easily  free  himself.  In  Egypt  the 
women  wear  a  veil  which  comes  just  below  the  eyes,  and  is 
held  up  by  a  little  hollow  cylinder  with  three  saw-tooth  wheels 
upon  it,  which  do  not  permit  it  to  drop  below  the  nose. 
What  diabolical  whim  of  fashion  ever  devised  this  bit  of  brazen 
machinery   as   an    article    of    feminine    adornment,    I    cannot 


MOM. KM    WOMEN    OF    I'AI.KSTINE 


imagine,  but  it  certainly  is  not  as  repulsive  as  the  Palestine 
veil,  which  covers  the  entire  face  with  its  blotched  and  spotted 
surface.  Any  one  who  compares  the  pictures  of  the  two  will 
observe  how  much  better  an  opportunity  for  tlirtation  the 
Egyptian  costume  gives  th:iii  that  of  Palestine.  Of  course  it 
is  only  the  ladies  of  these  countries  who  wear  these  veils  at 
all:  tlic  laboring  women  go  with  bare  faces,  and  in  general 
nature  has  done  enough  to  protect  them  from  the  admiring 
glances  of  the  opposite  sex.  However,  as  if  something  must 
be  done  to  disfigure  them,  the\'  comiiiMiily  indulge   in   tattoo- 


iSo  rilK    OLD    WORLD    IN     lllK    Ni;\V    CKNTL'RY 

ing;   .uul    tlu'ir  1kmuI\-.  which  was    Wiinc   too   i^rcat   before,  is 
not  improved  by  the  jirocess. 

Leaving  Jenin,  we  followed  throui;h  fine  olive  groves  and 
over  a  rock\-  hill  to  Dothan.  It  was  here  that  the  prophet 
Elisha  had  his  home  (2  Kings  6:  13).  I'^-om  this  place  he 
directed  the  counsels  of  the  king  of  Israel  in  his  warfare 
against  Henhadad,  king  of  Syria.  It  is  a  very  interesting 
stor\-  which  is  recorded  of  the  attemjit  to  capture  Elisha,  of 
the  terror  of  the  prophet's  servant,  and  of  the  vision  of  the 
chariots  of  horses  and  fire  round  about  the  prophet.  One 
rubs  his  eyes  hard  and  looks  about  him  trying  to  make  that 
vision  real  to-day,  and  wonders  on  which  of  these  rocky  hill- 
sides the  young  man  beheld  that  inspiring  scene.  The  story 
is  a  beautiful  one,  and  shows  the  gentler  side  of  the  prophet's 
nature.  When  his  captors  had  been  smitten  with  blindness, 
he  became  their  guide  and  led  them  to  Samaria,  where  the 
king  of  Israel,  overjoyed  at  his  good  fortune,  wanted  to  put 
them  all  to  death.  It  was  a  beautiful  answer,  and  one  quite 
at  variance  with  the  methods  of  warfare  in  that  day,  which 
the  prophet  gave  him: 

Thou  shalt  not  smite  them:  wouldest  thou  smite  those  whom  thou  hast 
taken  captive  with  thy  sword  and  with  thy  bow?  Set  bread  and  water 
before  them,  that  tliey  may  eat  and  drink,  and  go  to  their  master   (2  Kings 

2:  22). 

So  the  king  of  Israel  made  a  feast  for  them  instead  of 
putting  them  to  death,  and  sent  them  back  to  Damascus. 
Nor  was  his  generosity  thrown  away.  It  brought  the  war  to 
an  end.  "The  bands  of  Syria  came  no  more  into  the  land  of 
Israel." 

Dothan  has  still  more  ancient  memories.  Hither  came 
Joseph,  then  a  lad,  seeking  his  brothers,  with  refreshment  sent 
down  by  his  father.  Joseph  had  sought  them  first  in  She- 
chem,  a  considerable  distance  to  the  south,  but  learned  that 
they  had  moved  their  herds  to  Dothan,  in  search  of  better 
pasture.  So  he  followed  them  here,  and  they  plotted  against 
his  life.  The  counsel  of  Reuben  interposed  and  prevented 
his  murder,  and  caused   him  to  be  cast  into  a  pit.      Of  course 


A   RIDE    THROUGH    SAMARIA 


iS^ 


the  identical  pit  is  still  shown,  and  is  to  be  taken  with  the 
customary  saline  solution  ;  but  here,  beyond  reasonable  doubt, 
was  the  plain  where  the  event  occurred,  and  over  the  hill  to 
the  south  we  travel  the  road  along  which  the  camels  passed  as 
the  Midianites  moved  on  toward  Egypt.  The  road  has  worn 
itself  down  through  many  feet  of  rugged  rock,  where  the 
caravans   from    Galilee   to   Jerusalem  and   from   Damascus  to 


DOTH AN 


Egypt  have  passed  for  unnumbered  generations.  Over  this 
hill  and  over  this  plain  walked  the  sobbing  lad,  going  down 
into  slavery  in  Egypt,  and  to  his  great  career  as  prime  minis- 
ter of  Egypt  and  saver  of  his  own  people.  It  is  one  of  the 
finest  stories  in  literature,  and  the  character  of  Joseph  is  one 
of  the  most  admirable,  not  only  for  his  prudence  and  states- 
manship, but  also  for  his  chastity  and  magnanimity,  in  both 
of  which  he  rose  so  far  above  the  standards  of  his  age,  and 
exhibited  so  conspicuous  a  contrast  to  the  recorded  events  in 
the  lives  of  his  brethren. 

Before  closing  the  account  of  this  part  of  our  journe\%  I 
must  revert  to  an  incident  of  oiii-  Sunday  evening  in  .Samaria. 

At  Jenin  we  hail  a   twilight  service  wliicli   eoiuhined  some 


iSS         riiK  c)i.i)  WOULD  IN    rill':  nkw  century 

unusu.l1  elements  nf  interest.  In  the  liollow  square  inside 
our  camp  we  assembled,  taciiig  the  great  dining-tent,  which 
stood  at  the  west  end  of  the  camp-ground.  I  doubt  not  we 
ourselves  made  a  picturesque  company,  and  the  services  would 
ha\-e  been  impressive  had  we  been  there  alone;  l)ut  especial 
interest  was  attachetl  to  it  in  view  of  the  large  attendance 
which  we  gathered  from  the  village.  The  people  were  all 
about  when  the  singing  began,  but  came  nearer  when  they 
heard  the  music.  Our  guards  kept  them  away  from  the  sleep- 
ing-tents, for  the  most  of  the  people  were  thieves;  but  the 
open  space  toward  the  four-fold  dining-tent  was  packed  w^th 
them,  and  in  the  angles  to  the  right  and  left,  where  there  was 
a  gentle  slope,  their  faces  rose  in  tiers.  A  Nubian  soldier, 
black  as  midnight,  stood  near  the  speakers  on  the  right,  and 
the  native  guards  in  their  various  costumes  and  with  their 
antiquated  weapons,  stood  about  in  interesting  attitudes.  A 
group  of  men  from  the  village  in  semi- European  garb,  but 
with  the  inevitable  fez,  represented  the  official  life  of  the  town, 
and  the  natives  exhibited  a  bewildering  variety  of  costume. 

The  singing  was  fairly  good,  and  considerable  in  volume; 
the  tunes  were  very  unlike  the  monotonous  minor,  ranged 
over  a  few  notes  on  the  scale,  which  is  the  only  native  music 
that  we  heard.  The  most  of  the  natives  assembled  could  not 
have  understood  a  word  of  that  which  they  heard,  yet  their 
attitude  was  one  of  curiosity,  not  wholly  devoid  of  reverence, 
and  we  wondered  what  impression  of  the  beauty  of  the  wor- 
ship of  the  true  God  might  find  its  way  into  their  darkened 
lives.  Above  them  and  the  white  tops  of  our  tents,  rose  the 
Samaritan  hills;  and  still  beyond,  in  plain  sight,  but  in  deeper 
shades,  lay  the  hills  on  the  other  side  of  Jordan,  and  still 
above  this  the  purpling  colors  of  the  sunset  deepened  into 
twilight.  Surely  no  one  of  us  sought  his  tent  that  night 
without  a  feeling  of  solemnity,  and  an  indelible  memory  of  one 
of  the  most  impressive  services  ever  attended  by  any  of  our 
company. 


CHAPTER  Xlll 

THE    ANCIENT    SAMARITAN    CITIES 

The  most  interesting  town  which  we  visited  between 
Nazareth  and  Nablus  was  Sebaste,  the  ancient  Samaria.  It 
is  set  on  a  hill,  with  a  fine,  large  threshing-floor  above  it,  and 
here  we  gladly  rested  and  ate  our  dinner.  The  hill  rises  three 
hundred  and  thirty  feet  above  the  level,  and  is  terraced  and 
conspicuous.  King  Omri  purchased  this  hill,  and  there  built 
his  home,  and  it  thus  became  the  capital  of  the  northern 
kingdom  (i  Kings  16:24).  In  the  days  of  its  strength, 
it  was  probably  larger  and  more  important  than  Jerusalem. 
It  was  the  fall  of  this  city,  in  December,  722  B.  C,  which 
brought  to  an  end  the  northern  kingdom  and  the  carrying 
away  of  a  portion  of  the  ten  tribes. 

Around  no  other  subject  in  history  has  there  been  so  much 
of  speculation  as  about  the  loss  of  the  ten  tribes.  Only  a 
very  small  portion  of  the  population  was  carried  away.  Sargon 
himself  records  the  event.  It  was  he  who  completed  the 
capture  of  Shalmancscr  W.      Sargon  says: 

The  city  of  Samaria  I  besieged.  Twenty-seven  thousand  two  hundred 
and  ninety  inhabitants  of  it  I  carried  away  captive.  Fifty  chariots  in  it  I  took 
for  myself,  but  the  remainder  of  the  people  I  allowed  to  retain  their  pos- 
sessions. I  appointed  me  a  governor  over  them,  and  the  tribute  of  the 
preceding  king  I  imposed  upon  them. 

It  is  evident  that  this  was  only  a  fraction  of  the  popula- 
tion of  the  land.  Twenty  years  before  Sennacherib  had  taken 
200,150  captives  from  the  two  southern  tribes,  or  nearly  eight 
times  as  many  people  as  Sargon  took  from  Samaria.  Hut  the 
small  number  in  exile  under  Sargon  included  the  jicople  of 
prominence  and  wealth,  and  broke  the  national  spirit.  The 
great  majority  of  the  ten  tribes  were  never  lost,  save  by  assimi- 
lation with  the  Assyrians,  who  were  moved  in  by  Esar-haddon. 

189 


IQO  nil.    Ul.l>    WORLD    IN    THE    NEW    CENTURY 

If  the  throat  Ixuly  of  people  wlio  remained  in  their  own  land 
could  thus  be  assimilated  b>-  the  immigrants,  it  is  little  won- 
der that  the  hand  fid  of  exiles  who  were  scattered  in  Assyria 
were  absorbed  into  the  population  of  that  great  empire. 
There  probably  is  no  literary  fiction  with  a  smaller  historical 
basis  than  that  of  the  so  called  lost  ten  tribes. 

In  the  time  of  the  Maccabees,  Samaria  was  again  an  impor- 
tant city.  Its  tnie  location  made  it  almost  impregnable.  As 
in  Elisha's  day  it  had  held  out  long  against  the  Syrians,  until 
the  people  almost  starved,  and  even  had  compelled  the 
Assyrian  army  to  spend  three  years  in  its  capture,  so  it  resisted 
the  patriotic  Jews  under  John  Hyrcanus  for  a  full  year.  It 
was  rebuilt  by  Gabinius,  the  successor  of  Pompey,  and  was 
presented  by  Augustus  to  Herod.  Herod  changed  the  name. 
Omri  had  called  it  Shomeron,  that  is  "the  watch  tower,"  the 
same  as  the  German  Wartburg.  Herod  named  it  Sebaste, 
the  Greek  for  Augusta.  The  town  of  Herod  probably  covered 
the  entire  hill.  There  still  remains  a  quadruple  line  of 
columns,  following  what  was  once  the  main  street,  to  the 
length  of  a  mile  or  more.  This  is  the  most  extensive  and 
interesting  ruin  which  we  saw  anywhere  in  Palestine,  and 
seems  to  offer  a  fine  field  for  future  exploration. 

At  the  end  of  the  colonnade  on  the  farther  side  of  the  hill 
is  the  site  of  the  ancient  gate  of  Samaria,  where  the  lepers 
are  supposed  to  have  sat  in  Elisha's  day  (2  Kings  7:4). 
The  poor  fellows  were,  if  possible,  a  little  nearer  starvation 
than  the  people  of  the  city,  and  in  their  extremity  resolved 
to  go  over  to  the  Syrians,  in  hope  that  by  some  all  but  impos- 
sible impulse  of  mercy  they  might  be  permitted  to  escape 
alive.  They  found  that  the  Syrians  had  fled  in  a  panic, 
through  the  rumor  of  an  alliance  of  the  Hittites  and  Egyp- 
tians against  them.  They  found  the  deserted  camp  with  an 
abundance  of  provisions  and  at  once  fell  to  feasting.  "Why 
sit  we  here  until  we  die?"  was  the  question  which  they  had 
asked  themselves  when  they  made  the  desperate  resolution  to 
go  to  the  camp  of  the  besiegers;  but  now  in  the  midst  of  their 
feasting  they  exclaimed,  "We  do  not  well;   this  day  is  a  day 


THE   ANCIENT   SAMARITAN   CITIES 


191 


of  good  tidings,  and  we  hold  our  peace."  And  so  they  cut 
themselves  short  in  their  first  selfish  impulse  to  turn  the  dis- 
covery of  the  raising  of  the  siege  to  their  own  advantage,  and 
instead  brought  the  good  news  to  the  people  within  the  city. 
The  people  of  modern  Sebaste  are  ignorant  and  bigoted. 
They  stand  in  their  door  as  the  tourists  go  past,  making 
uncomplimentary  remarks  about  them.      One  of  the  women 


ANCIENT    SAMARIA    OF   T()-1)AV 

addressed  to  the  ladies  of  our  party  a  speech,  which  our 
dragoman  thus  interpreted: 

"You  are  fine  ladies,  and  wear  good  clothes,  while  I  have 
to  work;  but  you  ride  on  horseback  ten  days  and  are  tired, 
while  I  will  walk  a  hundred  days  and  carry  a  burden  and  not 
be  tired." 

She  certainly  told  the  truth;  and  it  ma\'  not  be  wondered 
at  that  she  resented  a  little  the  better  clothes  of  the  Ameri- 
can women,  or  that  she  should  desire  to  taunt  tlicni  with  her 
own  superior  strength. 


u)-'  rilK    OLD    WORLD    IN     llll.    Ni:\\    CKNll  KV 

Ruins  of  the  splendor  of  ancient  Samaria  are  scattered  all 
about  the  modern  vilhu;e,  and  here  one  may  buy  tear-bottles 
from  the  tombs,  and  copper  coins  of  the  Roman  period. 
These  are  enoui^h  cheaper  than  those  at  Jerusalem  to  make 
it  pay  one  to  carry  a  few. 

We  are  reminded  that  Samaria  has  a  place  in  Christian 
history.  Philip  the  Evangelist  preached  here  (Acts  8:5^, 
and  afterwards  there  was  an  important  church  here  with  a 
Greek  bishop  in  charge.  Jerome  tells  us  that  John  the  Bap- 
tist was  buried  here,  and  while  that  is  far  from  being  satisfac- 
tory evidence,  it  is  quite  enough  to  justify  the  pointing  out 
of  his  tomb.  With  John  are  said  to  be  buried  P^lisha  and 
Obadiah,  who  is  referred  to  in  1  Kings  18:  3  as  the  governor 
of  the  house  of  Ahab  who  fed  a  hundred  prophets  of  Jehovah 
during  the  time  of  Jezebel's  fanatical  persecution  against 
them.  These  three  tombs  are  in  a  crypt  which  may  be  seen 
by  means  of  candles  through  the  holes  in  the  rock.  It  is  a 
close,  stuffy  place  with  little  to  see. 

Above  the  tomb  stands  what  was  originally  a  Christian 
church,  but  is  now  a  mosque.  It  is  well  built  in  solid  Roman- 
esque style  with  Gothic  arches  in  the  apse.  This  church  was 
erected  by  the  Knights  of  St.  John,  in  honor  of  the  Baptist, 
whom  they  count  their  patron  saint.  It  is  one  of  the  best  speci- 
mens remaining  of  the  architecture  of  the  Crusaders.  Here  is  a 
Moslem  school,  in  which  boys  are  taught  to  read  the  Koran 
and  to  work  sums  in  arithmetic.  Visitors  are  welcome  to  the 
school  and  may  go  about  without  much  restriction,  but  of 
course  must  not  touch  copies  of  the  Koran  which  are  lying 
about.  The  little  rascals  are  anxious  to  sell  copies  of  their 
school  work,  in  return  for  bakshish,  and  the  teacher  is  willing 
to  receive  bakshish  in  exchange  for  some  of  the  reed  pens 
which  he  makes  for  the  boys. 

We  came  down  the  hill  from  Sebaste,  and  finding  the  main 
roads  bad,  struck  off  through  the  fields,  following  one  of  the 
dragomen.  The  dragomen  are  perfectly  lawless  about  cross- 
ing people's  property,  and  have  as  great  disregard  for  a  green 
wheat-field  as  they  have  reverence  for  bread  itself.     If  a  Moslem 


THE   ANCIENT   SAMARITAN   CITIES 


'93 


finds  a  piece  of  bread  in  the  road,  he  picks  it  up  and  rever- 
ently presses  it  to  his  forehead  and  lays  it  upon  a  stone  by 
the  wayside  for  the  birds,  saying  as  he  does  so,  "We  must  not 
trample  upon  the  gift  of  God."  It  is  a  beautiful  thing  to 
see  this  act  of  reverence  on  the  part  of  the  Mohammedans, 
which  reminds  us  Americans  that  we  are  far  from  beinc:  care- 


READING  THK   GOSPEL   STORY    AT   JACOB'S   WELL 
Photograph  by  Rev.  Josiah  Strong,  D.D. 

ful  in  our  use  of  the  necessities  of  life.  The  same  Moham- 
medan, however,  has  little  regard  for  bread  growing  in  the 
wheat-field,  and  gallops  his  horse  through  it  on  the  slightest 
provocation. 

Turning  through  some  olive  orchards  and  across  a  cultivatctl 
plain,  we  wound  up  a  hill,  the  steepest  hill  we  had  climbed,  and 
by  the  side  of  a  ravine  the  deepest  that  we  skirled  an\'\vhere  in 
Samaria.  The  jjath  was  not  intended  for  horses,  and  iiimy 
of  our  [)ait\-  shuddered  as  they  went  near  to  the  edge  of  the 
deep  valley.      We  learned    tiiat  it    had  not    i)een  the  intent  of 


194         im    oi.n  world  in   iiie  nkw  century 

the  conductor  that  \vc  sliould  come  this  way,  but  that  we  had 
come  througli  the  recklessness  of  one  of  the  dragomen.  After 
something  of  a  ride  through  this  broken  country,  we  emerged 
into  the  great  Damascus  caravan  road,  and  ahead  of  us  lay 
Mounts  Ebal  and  Gerizim.  We  turned  our  horses'  heads 
toward  the  open  between  the  two  great  hills,  and  moved 
along  now  with  some  rapidity  over  a  really  good  road.  On 
both  sides  of  the  way  lay  fertile  fields,  and  here  and  there 
were  olive  groves.  We  saw  one  olive  grove  in  which  every 
tree  had  been  girdled.  We  wondered  at  it,  and  asked  one  of 
the  dragomen.  He  replied  in  the  language  of  Scripture, 
"An  enemy  hath  done  this."  In  this  we  saw  an  evidence  of 
the  implacable  spirit  of  revenge  and  hatred  which  lies  deep  in 
the  hearts  of  these  Syrian  people. 

Some  ancient  conduits  convey  water  from  the  hillsides, 
and  there  were  women  digging  ditches  in  the  fertile  spots  for 
irrigating  purposes.  A  good  many  people  met  us  in  the 
road,  and  we  had  every  indication  that  we  were  approaching 
an  important  center  of  population. 

Nablus,  the  ancient  Shechem,  is  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing places  in  the  Bible,  and  one  of  the  oldest  of  Palestine 
towns.  Jacob  bought  a  farm  here  from  the  children  of 
Hamor  and  paid  for  it  with  a  hundred  pieces  of  money,  and 
here  he  erected  an  altar,  which  he  named  ''God,  the  God 
of  Israel"  (Gen.  33:18-20).  Afterward  Jacob  removed  to 
Bethel,  where  he  had  erected  his  earlier  altar  to  God;  but 
he  retained  his  possessions  in  Shechem  and  hid  his  treasures 
there  (Gen.  35  :  4). 

After  the  Exodus,  Shechem  was  the  scene  of  many  solemn 
assemblies.  When  the  Israelites  had  crossed  the  Jordan  and 
entered  the  land,  the  people  stood  divided,  half  upon  Mount 
Gerizim  and  half  upon  Mount  Ebal;  the  blessings  of  the  law 
were  read  from  Gerizim  and  the  cursings  from  Ebal,  and  in 
response  to  each,  the  people  said,  "Amen."  The  cursings 
for  the  most  part  related  to  practical  and  wholesome  duties. 
That  man  was  cursed  who  scorned  his  father  or  his  mother, 
or  who  removed   his  neighbor's  landmark,  or  who  caused   the 


THE   ANCIENT   SAMARITAN   CITIES  195 

blind  to  wander  from  the  way,  or  who  perverted  the  judgment 
of  the  stranger,  the  fatherless,  or  the  widow,  or  who  worked 
anything  abominable  or  unclean,  or  who  smote  his  neighbor 
secretly,  or  who  took  reward  to  slay  an  innocent  person  ;  while 
the  blessings  pronounced  on  those  who  should  continue  in  the 
words  of  the  law  of  God  were  full  of  beauty  and  of  hope 
(Deut.  xxvii,  xxvdii,  and  Josh.  8:  32-35). 

Again  Joshua  gathered  the  nation  together  at  Shechem 
before  his  death,  and  in  the  most  solemn  manner  called  upon 
the  people  to  choose  between  God  and  Baal,  and  there  pro- 
claimed his  own  steadfast  loyalty  to  the  God  who  had  brought 
them  out  of  Egypt.  One  feels  the  solemnity  of  these  memo- 
ries as  he  rides  between  the  two  great  mountains.  Along  this 
highway  has  wound  the  procession  of  the  ages.  This  was  a 
sacred  spot  as  far  back  as  the  dawn  of  history. 

The  people  of  Nablus  are  largely  Moslems,  and  are  fanati- 
cal and  quarrelsome.  Commercially,  the  town  seemed  the 
most  important  we  had  found  in  Palestine,  and  the  streets 
were  far  more  attractive  than  those  of  the  villages  that  we 
had  left  just  behind,  but  the  people  were  unfriendly,  and 
either  ignored  us  entirely  or  tried  to  sell  us  articles  at  high 
prices,  or  muttered  imprecations  at  us.  Nablus  is  not  as  good 
a  place  to  make  advantageous  purchases  as  the  smaller  villages 
to  the  north,  though  one  has  a  greater  variety  to  choose  from, 
and  more  competition,  and  the  bazaars  possess  that  interest 
which  all  Oriental  shops  display  to  the  bargain-hunting  tour- 
ist. One  can  buy  nearly  anything  there  which  can  be 
found  anywhere  in  central  Palestine.  Many  of  the  streets 
are  entirely  arched  over  with  houses  built  above  them.  These 
make  dark  tunnels  through  which  one  must  pass  in  going  from 
place  to  place. 

Not  far  from  the  tomb  of  Joseph  is  the  village  of  Sychar, 
where  the  woman  lived  with  whom  Jesus  talked  beside  the 
well.  The  modern  name  is  'Asker,  and  it  has  little  to  recom- 
mend it  in  its  present  condition  e.xcept  a  good  spring.  The 
presence  of  this  spring  is  the  only  thing  that  causes  an\-  doubt 
about  the  genuineness  of  the  \'illage;    for  why,  some  scholars 


196         -nil-:  oiA)  woKi.i)  IN    iiiK  Ni:\\   centuky 

ask.  should  tlic  woman  have  gone  past  so  good  a  spring  to 
draw  water  at  Jacob's  well,  which  is  farther  away?  Perhaps 
this  was  not  the  village  after  all;   let  us  hope  so. 

Jacob's  well  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  spots  in  all 
Palestine.  Of  its  genuineness  there  seems  no  reasonable 
doubt.  It  is  fully  described  in  "Robinson's  Researches,"  and 
in  almost  every  modern  treatise  on  Palestine.  It  is  bored 
through  the  solid  rock,  and  is  covered  with  an  arch,  above 
which  stood  a  church  built  in  the  fourth  century.  It  is  nine 
feet  in  diameter,  and  its  depth  is  variously  estimated.  I 
drank  of  the  w^ater,  and  found  it  good.  Here  we  assembled 
and  read  the  account  of  the  Lord's  journey  through  Samaria, 
and  how  he  talked  with  the  woman  by  the  well,  and  told  her 
of  the  water  of  life.  It  is  the  one  place  in  all  Palestine 
where  we  are  able  to  say,  "Here  our  Lord  sat." 

The  Greeks  have  possession  of  the  place  now,  and  it  is 
inclosed  with  a  wall,  and  a  garden  under  cultivation  seemed 
to  exhibit  signs  of  more  extensive  improvements  in  prospect. 
About  the  well  itself,  how^ever,  are  only  ruins  of  the  old 
church,  and  I  hope  that  it  will  be  a  good  while  before  much 
building  is  done  about  the  place. 

Beyond   Nablus,    toward   Jerusalem,    and   near  to  Jacob's 

well,  lies  the  reputed  tomb  of  Joseph.     It  is  an  ordinary  Moslem 

tomb,  with   a  rounded  top,  neither  more  nor  less  interesting 

than   those  of   its   class.      It   is   in   the   care  of   dervishes  who 

never  speak.      There   are   many   kinds   of   dervishes,  howling 

dervishes,  wailing  dervishes,  and  I  know  not  how  many  kinds 

besides;   the  dumb  dervish  is  rather  an   interesting  variation. 

Prohibited  from  using  their  tongues,  however,  these  dervishes 

devote  themselves  to   literature  and   produce  written  charms, 

to  avert   the  evil  eye.      The  "evil   eye"  is  a  real   and   terrible 

thing  in    Palestine  superstition.      The  man  who  with  a  glance 

can  do  you  harm  may  loom  above  the  horizon  at  any  moment. 

Wherefore,  it  is  well  that  there  should  be  numerous  antidotes 

for  his  influence.      These  abound,  in  blue  beads  to  tie  around 

the  horses'  necks,  and  in  various  charms  and   medals  worn  by 

the    people;    but    a    written    prescription    from    the    tomb    of 


THE   ANCIENT   SAMARITAN    CITIES 


197 


•  •  ; 

5     -^^    -  '_    t-Mc 


Joseph  is  supposed  to  possess  special  sacredness,  and  I  am 
very  glad  to  have  a  copy  of  the  genuine  article.  Although 
he  did  not  speak,  the  dervish  found  means  of  indicating  that 
he  was  not  above  accepting  money  as  a  return  for  the  pre- 
scription, and  I  left  him  well  pleased  over  the  sum  which  I 
gave  him.  I  think  I  got  my  money's 
worth,  for  I  saw  all  manner  of  evil 
eyes  in  Palestine,  and  have  brought 
away  no  visible  marks  of  their 
malign  influence. 

If  we  could  know  that  this  is 
really  Joseph's  tomb,  it  would  in- 
deed be  an  interesting  spot  to  us, 
for  Joseph's  body  was  brought  up 
from  Egypt  in  obedience  to  his 
own  request  and  buried  in  this 
place.  If  this  is  not  the  tomb,  then 
at  least  the  tomb  is  near  here. 

What  a  funeral  procession  this 
man  Joseph  had!  There  is  none 
like  it  in  history. 

The  children  of  Israel  were 
making  their  hasty  flight  from 
Egypt.  There  were  years  of  wan- 
dering before  them,  and  behind 
was  a  pursuing  army.  They  were 
carrying  as    much    as    possible    of 

their  own  belongings,  and  were  further  encumbered  by  those 
contributions,  by  which  they  were  hoping  to  make  good 
something  of  the  unrequited  labor  of  four  hundred  years. 
They  had  flocks  and  herds  also,  and  each  man  besides 
his  care  for  his  (n\ii  household  had  responsibility  for  the 
common  subsistence  and  defense.  Yet,  in  their  haste  of 
flight  and  excessive  burden,  they  found  time  and  strength 
for  an  added  load.  The  body  of  Joscj)!!,  buried  more  than 
a  century  before,  they  had  exhumed,  and  now  carried  with 
them. 


•Z'. 


•^•>>. 


CIIAKM    FOR    "EVIL    EVE" 


19S  rilK   OLD    WORLD    l.\     LUE    NEW    CENIT'RY 

The  record  is  eloquent,  because  it  is  a  witness  to  human 
fidelit\'  extending  over  centuries. 

And  loseph  tocik  an  oalli  of  tlic  rliildron  of  1si;k'1,  saying,  God  will 
surely  visit  you,  and  ye  sliall  carry  up  my  hones  from  hence.  So  Josepli 
died.lieiuii  a  hundred  and  ten  years  old:  and  they  emhalmetl  him,  and  he 
was  pui  in  a  coffin  in  Egypt. 

They  put  him  in  a  collin  in  F>!^ypt,  and  they  did  not  for- 
get him.  Being  dead,  he  yet  spoke  to  them  in  his  dying 
request,  and  the  memory  of  liis  children's  pledge  was  the  best 
promise  of  an  escape  from  Egypt.  II is  body  lay  in  some 
almost  royal  tomb,  but  through  the  years  that  intervened 
between  his  death  and  the  Exodus,  his  soul  went  marching  on. 
Lone  before  Moses  was  born,  the  dying  words  of  Joseph 
uttered  a  prophecy  of  deliverance  from  bondage.  When  the 
yoke  pressed  sore  upon  the  shoulders  of  his  people,  they 
remembered  that  Joseph  had  charged  them  concerning  the  land 
of  promise.  When  they  were  making  bricks  without  straw, 
they  remembered  that  the  grand  sarcophagus  where  Joseph 
lav  was  only  a  temporary  habitation  for  a  body  that  could 
have  no  final  resting-place  save  in  the  land  that  was  his 
father's,  and  was  to  be  his  children's.  The  ancients  spoke  of 
their  sages  of  the  past,  and  said  of  them  that,  "They  rule  us 
from  their  urns."  So  the  dead  body  of  Joseph  ruled  during 
the  long,  cruel  period  of  oppression  before  Moses  came;  the 
spirit  of  him  who  had  been  prime  minister  still  held  sway, 
though  the  new  Pharaoh  and  his  dynasty  knew  not  Joseph. 
King  after  king  lived  and  died.  Rameses  I  and  Seti,  and 
Rameses  the  Great,  the  kings  of  Egypt's  nineteenth  dynasty, 
were  embalmed  and  laid  to  rest,  each  in  his  richly  decorated 
mausoleum  near  the  banks  of  the  Nile.  Far  down  the  river 
Joseph's  body  rested,  and  the  mighty  hope  which  had  been 
his  for  his  people  continued,  though  almost  despairing,  like  a 
smothered  fire  in  the  hearts  of  the  children  of  Israel. 

We  lose  sight  of  Joseph's  body  after  the  Red  Sea  is 
crossed.  A  whole  generation  died  and  left  their  bones  in  the 
wilderness.  Joseph's  body  might  have  been  buried  with 
these,  for  why  should  the  whim  of  a  dead  man  be  held  sacred 


THE   ANCIENT   SAMARITAN   CITIES 


'99 


Joseph's  tomb 


through  the  vicissitudes  of  forty  years?  Yet,  when  Jordan  is 
also  passed,  when  Jericho  is  fallen,  when  the  people  of  the  land 
have  been  driven  out,  and  Israel  finds  rest  in  the  land  prom- 
ised to  Abraham,  we  find  a  single  verse  which  tells  the  whole 
story  of  forty  years: 

And  the  bones  of  Joseph,  which  the  children  of  Israel  brought  up  out 
of  Egypt,  buried  they  in  Shechem,  in  the  parcel  of  ground  which  Jacob 
bought  of  the  sons  of  Hamor  the  father  of  Shechem  for  a  hundred  pieces 
of  numey:  and  they  became  the  inheritance  of  the  children  of  Joseph 
(Josh.  24:32). 

Joseph  might  have  had  a  splendid  tomb  and  monument 
in  Egypt.  Pyramids,  already  hoary  with  age,  were  there 
testifying  to  the  high  esteem  in  which  the  noble  dead  were 
held  in  the  land  of  the  Nile.  ilis  sepulclu-r  might  have  been 
among  them,  but  it  was  not. 

It  was  his  determination  never  to  let  his  people  rest  in 
Elgypt  or  in  the  wilderness  which  made  his  bones  re.stless  in 
their  Egyptian  tomb.  At  scores  (if  times  in  the  forty  years 
of  desert    march    and    sojourn,  the    i|uery   of   the    h'ving    was, 


^oi>  THl.    ol.n    WDUl.D    IN     IIIK    NEW    CKNTl'KY 

wlu'lhcr  it  was  worth  while  to  march  on.  Mach  well  in  the 
wilderness  with  its  oasis  was  an  inx'itation  to  leniain.  I'lach 
space  of  i;i-ass  for  their  llocks  raised  anew  the  cjuestion  of 
farther  progress;  but  besides  Moses,  with  his  inflexible  will, 
there  was  a  silent  member  of  the  conipan}-,  whose  voiceless 
protest  against  content  with  the  wilderness  could  not  be  gain- 
said or  argued  down.  They  might  make  homes  for  them- 
selves there,  but  where  would  they  bur}-  the  body  of  Joseph? 
For  him  there  was  no  resting-place  short  of  Canaan,  and 
hence  no  home  for  his  children.  Thus  Joseph's  dying 
request  became  an  eloquent  testimony  to  his  own  faith  in  the 
deliverance  of  his  people:  an  effective  estoppel  against 
content  in  Kgypt  or  the  wilderness;  and  a  powerful  incen- 
tive to  the  fulfilment  of  the  hope  which  he  cherished  for 
the  nation. 

Well  may  that  nation  honor  the  tomb  of  Joseph! 
Nablus  is  a  corruption  of  Neapolis,  and   means  "the  new 
city."     The  old  city  was  Shechem.     Besides  the  events  which 
we   have  been   recalling,  there   is   another   chapter   of   history 
which  deserves  our  recollection. 

After  the  fall  of  Samaria,  in  722  B  C,  the  country  had  a 
period  of  troublous  and  unsettled  conditions.  The  Assyrian 
monarch,  weary  of  the  constant  outbreaks  and  rebellions  which 
had  vexed  him  in  this  region,  determined  to  obliterate  every 
vestige  of  its  political  life  by  transporting  its  influential  people 
into  other  provinces  of  his  kingdom,  and  bringing  into  the 
country  immigrants  in  sufficient  numbers  to  change  the  char- 
acter of  the  population.  There  were  not  enough  of  them  in 
any  one  place  to  have  any  national  life  of  their  own,  and  they 
were  probably  people  who  had  made  trouble  where  they  had 
been.  Doubtless,  also,  they  were  as  homesick  in  Palestine 
as  the  Israelites  were  in  Babylon.  At  the  outset  they  had 
little  commercial  prosperity,  and  did  not  succeed  on  the  rough 
farms  where  they  were  placed.  The  waste  places  grew  larger 
in  spite  of  them,  and  the  wild  beasts  increased  in  numbers  and 
ferocity.  They  attributed  these  disasters  to  the  fact  that 
"they  knew  not   the  manner  of  the  God   of  the   land,"  and 


THE   ANCIENT   SAMARITAN   CITIES  201 

they  sent  a  pathetic  request  to  Esar-liaddon,  king  of  Assyria, 

saying : 

The  nations  which  thou  hast  removed,  and  placed  in  the  cities  of  Sama- 
ria, know  not  the  manner  of  the  God  of  the  land:  therefore  he  hath  sent 
lions  among  them,  and,  behold,  they  slay  them,  because  they  know  not  the 
manner  of  the  God  of  the  land  (2  Kings  17:  26). 

The  Assyrian  king,  who  cared  Httle  for  the  rehgion  of  his 
provinces  so  long  as  tributes  were  regularly  paid,  caused  one 
of  the  Hebrew  priests  to  be  sent  back  to  reestablish  the  wor- 
ship of  Jehovah.  He  set  up  a  shrine  at  Bethel,  and  the  old 
worship  was  resumed  with  modifications,  in  which  survived 
the  essential   characteristics  of  their  various  former  religions. 

They  feared  the  Lord,  and  served  their  own  gods,  after  the  manner  of 
the  nations  whom  they  carried  away  from  thence  (2  Kings  17:  33). 

It  is  a  very  remarkable  narrative  contained  in  this  chapter, 
showing  how  the  worship  of  Jehovah  survived  in  many  and 
strange  forms  in  that  portion  of  the  land  where  always  there 
had   been  much   latitude  in  the  form  of  religious  observance. 

For  nearly  two  hundred  years  this  system,  or  congeries  of 
systems,  prevailed;  and  when  Assyria  and  Babylon  gave  place 
to  Persia,  and  Zerubbabel  and  his  companions  returned  from 
Babylon,  in  537  1^.  C,  this  people  were  quite  ready  for  any 
new  modifications  of  their  religious  system  which  the  newly 
returned  exiles  might  have  to  suggest.  They  sent  their  repre- 
sentatives to  Jerusalem,  saying: 

Let  us  build  with  you:  for  we  seek  your  God,  as  ye  do;  and  we  do  sac- 
rifice unto  him  since  the  days  of  Esar-haddon  king  of  Assur,  which 
brought  us  up  hither  (Ezra  4:2). 

This  was  a  courteous,  and  doubtless  a  well-intended 
request,  but  it  was  scornfully  rejected.  Zerubbabel  and 
Jcshua  saw  in  it  a  peril  to  the  pure  faith  which  they  had  come 
to  reestablish:  moreover,  they  had  confidence  in  the  con- 
tinued help  of  Cyrus  antl  the  favor  of  Jehovah,  and  were 
perilously  self-reliant,  so  they  answered: 

Yc  have  nothing  to  do  with  us  to  build  an  house  unto  our  God;  but  we 
ourselves  together  will  build  unto  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  as  king  Cyrus 
the  king  of  Persia  hath  commanded  us  (Ezra  4:  3). 


202  rilK    OLD    WORLD    IN     I'llL    NLW     CLNIURV 

There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  tli.it  these  representatives 
of  the  \arious  faiths  that  worshiped  Jehoxali  were  confined  to 
Samaria.  Tn^lialilN-  by  tliis  time  they  had  scattered  them- 
selves pretty  well  over  the  land,  for  Judah  had  long  since  met 
the  fate  of  the  northern  kingdom,  in  the  fall  of  the  temple 
and  of  Jerusalem,  in  586.  lUit  the  center  of  this  mixed  wor- 
ship was  at  Bethel,  ami  it  had  been  longer  established  in  the 
northern  than  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  land,  so  Samaria 
was  its  natural  field  of  operation. 

Disappointed  in  their  attempt  to  make  friends  with  the 
newlv  returned  exiles,  and  with  some  reasonable  fear  lest  their 
haughtiness  and  confidence  in  the  exclusive  protection  of 
Jehovah  boded  ill  for  themselves,  the  Samaritans  sent  a  dele- 
gation to  the  court  of  Cyrus  to  frustrate  the  purposes  of  the 
colonists  in  Jerusalem.  The  story  is  told  succinctly  in  Ezra 
4:4-6. 

Then  the  people  of  the  land  weakened  the  hands  of  the  people  of  Judah, 
and  troubled  them  in  building,  and  hired  counselors  against  them,  to  frus- 
trate their  purpose,  all  the  days  of  Cyrus  king  of  Persia,  even  until  the 
reign  of  Darius  king  of  Persia.  And  in  the  reign  of  Ahasuerus,  in  the  be- 
ginning of  his  reign,  wrote  they  unto  him  an  accusation  against  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Judah  and  Jerusalem, 

This  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  stories  in  Old  Testa- 
ment history,  and  one  not  very  familiar  to  ordinary  Bible 
readers,  but  it  is  told  with  great  precision,  even  to  the  names 
of  the  lobbyists,  and  it  is  evident  that  the  lobby  was  main- 
tained for  fifteen  or  eighteen  years.  The  arguments  which 
they  used  are  given  in  full.  The  Jews  had  returned,  not  to 
build  a  temple,  but  to  construct  a  fort.  Their  real  ambition 
was  political  independence.  If  they  succeeded  in  construct- 
ing a  walled  city  they  would  cease  to  pay  tribute.  The  king 
had  only  to  search  the  records  of  his  predecessors  to  find  how 
troublesome  Jerusalem  had  always  been.  Its  destruction  had 
come  about  through  its  incorrigible  sedition.  If  now  the  city 
were  rebuilt,  it  would  result  in  the  ultimate  wresting  of  the 
entire  province  from  Persia.  Their  letter  to  Artaxerxes  is  as 
follows : 


THE   ANCIENT   SAMARITAN    CITIES  203 

Be  it  known  unto  the  king,  that  the  Jews  which  came  up  from  thee  to  us 
are  come  unto  Jerusalem,  building  the  rebellious  and  the  bad  city,  and  have 
set  up  the  walls  thereof,  and  joined  the  foundations.  Be  it  known  now  unto 
the  king,  that,  if  this  city  be  builded,  and  the  walls  set  up  again,  then  will 
they  not  pay  toll,  tribute,  and  custom,  and  so  thou  shalt  endamage  the  reve- 
nue of  the  kings.  [We  request]  That  search  may  be  made  in  the  book  of 
the  records  of  thy  fathers:  so  shalt  thou  find  in  the  book  of  records,  and 
know  that  this  city  is  a  rebellious  city,  and  hurtful  unto  kings  and  prov- 
inces, and  that  they  have  moved  sedition  within  the  same  of  old  time:  for 
which  cause  was  this  city  destroyed.  We  certify  the  king  that,  if  this  city 
be  builded  again,  and  the  walls  thereof  set  up,  by  this  means  thou  shalt 
have  no  portion  on  this  side  the  river  (Ezra  4:  12-16). 

This  letter  told  essentially  the  truth.  Independence  was 
exactly  what  the  Jews  were  striving  for,  and  the  Persian 
kings,  to  whom  all  this  ancient  history  was  new,  gave  the 
letter  due  consideration,  and  forbade  the  rebuilding  of  Jerusa- 
lem. It  was  not  until  there  came  another  revolution  in  Persia 
that  the  Jews  had  opportunity  to  continue  their  work. 

With  the  rebuilding  of  Jerusalem,  Judah  became  more 
firmly  established  in  the  worship  of  Jehovah,  and  doubtless 
the  Samaritan  worship  declined.  The  people  of  the  land 
began  to  intermarry  with  the  Jews,  and  Nehemiah,  who  came 
on  later,  employed  drastic  measures  to  break  up  these  com- 
promising unions.  At  this  time,  Manasseh,  a  priest,  having 
married  a  Samaritan  princess,  refused  to  leave  his  wife,  and 
was  expelled  from  Jerusalem.      Nehemiah  tells  the  story: 

And  one  of  the  sons  of  Joaida,  the  son  of  Eliashib  the  high  priest,  was 
son  in  law  to  Sanballat  the  Horonite:  therefore  I  chased  him  from  me 
(Neh.  13:  28). 

The  father-in-law  of  the  deposed  priest,  Sanballat  by  name, 
built  for  his  son-in-law  a  temple  on  Mount  Geri/.ini,  where 
from  this  time  on  the  Samaritans  had  their  own  worship. 

This  is  a  most  interesting  piece  of  history,  and  gives  us 
the  origin  of  a  sect  that  still  exists  in  Nablus,  the  ancient 
Shcchcm. 

The  Samaritans  took  with  them  the  Pentateuch,  which 
they  recognized  as  the  one  inspired  law.  It  is  practically 
identical  with  the  Jewish  Pentateuch,  but  the  Ten  Command- 
ments are  consolidated   into  nine,  and  the  tenth  is  added  in  a 


2o\  TllK    ol.l)    WUKl.l)    IN     I  Hi:    M:W    CKNTIKV 

verso  taken  from  htut.  -'7:4,  with  l^hal  changed  to  Geri- 
zim.  so  making  the  command  to  establish  a  pkice  of  worship 
on  Mount  (^icri/im  one  of  the  lY-n  Commandments.  Thus 
they  prove  that  all  worship  centering  in  Jerusalem  is  heretical, 
and  b\-  changing  Jerusalem  to  Geri/.im  in  the  Pentateuch, 
prove  that  the  latter  is  the  one  authorized  place  for  the  wor- 
ship of  Jehovah.  Manasseh  had  Sanballat  behind  him  to 
enforce  the  new  form  of  worship  as  the  state  religion,  and  as 
it  was  still  the  worship  of  Jehovah,  it  was  readily  adopted  by 
the  people  of  the  middle  and  northern  parts  of  Palestine.  It 
is  hard  to  see  what  else  they  could  have  done,  if  they  were 
to  worship  Jehovah  at  all,  since  they  were  prohibited  from 
having  any  share  in  the  worship  at  Jerusalem. 

The  two  sects  lived  side  by  side  in  their  two  little  capitals 
of  Shechem  and  Jerusalem.  One  had  its  Gerizim  and  the 
other  its  Zion,  and  each  had  its  only  genuine  law  of  Moses, 
Each  could  prove  the  other  utterly  wrong  by  its  own  Penta- 
teuch, and  there  was  abundant  higher  criticism  in  each  sect  to 
show  just  where  the  other  had  tinkered  with  the  text. 
Modern  scholarship  has  never  had  the  slightest  doubt  regard- 
ing the  matter,  for  the  changes  in  the  Samaritan  texts  are  so 
glaringly  unhistorical  as  not  be  open  to  any  reasonable 
doubt.  However,  it  was  easy  enough  in  that  day  to  prove 
to  the  full  satisfaction  of  the  people  of  Samaria  that  theirs 
was  the  only  authorized  edition  of  the  Books  of  Moses. 

This  hot  discussion  had  gone  on  for  four  and  a  half  centu- 
ries at  the  time  of  Jesus'  ministry,  and  still  the  Jews  had  no 
dealings  with  the  Samaritans.  It  was  a  direct  rebuke  to 
Jewish  narrowness  when  Jesus  chose  a  Samaritan  as  the  hero 
of  his  parable  of  the  man  falling  among  the  thieves.  More 
than  once  in  his  works  of  healing  he  showed  how  little  sym- 
pathy he  had  with  the  old  historic  quarrel.  Still,  he  was  ready 
to  affirm  that  the  Samaritans  worshiped  they  knew  not  what, 
and  that  salvation  was  from  the  Jews,  who  had  preserved  in 
its  historic  continuity  the  worship  of  Jehovah. 

When  Jesus  was  passing  through  Samaria,  he  was  some- 
times refused   shelter  by  its  inhabitants,  but  he  was  ever  kind 


THE   ANXIENT   SAMARITAN   CITIES 


205 


to  them.      He  sat  on   Jacob's  well,  and  talked  to  the  woman 
there,  and  she  propounded  to  him  the  old  test  question : 

Our  fathers  worshiped  in  this  mountain;  and  ye  say,  that  in  Jerusalem 
is  the  place  where  men  ought  to  worship  (John  4:  20). 

The  question  was  more  than  four  hundred  years  old   then;   it 
is  nineteen   hundred  years  older  now,  but   still  it   is   the   test 


^^^^^^^               ^^^^^H 

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^V^l^    .  ~ 

YAKOB,    SAMARITAN    UK. II     I'KlliST 

question  between  the  Jews  and  the  followers  of  the  deposed 
priest  Manasseh. 

The  following  account  of  the  holy  manuscript  of  Nablus 
is  copied  from  Smyth's  "The  Old  Documents  and  the  New 
Bible." 

It  had  often  l)ecn  noiiccd  witli  some  curiosity,  especially  at  the  Ivefor- 
Miation  times,  in  the  disputes  about  the  Hebrew  I5ible,  that  in  the  works  of 
certain  old  fathers,  Origan,  and  St.  Jerome,  and  I'.uscbius  the  historian,  and 


2o6  rilK    OLD    WORLD    IN     lllL    NLW     CKNTURY 

others,  there  were  references  to  "the  ancient  Melirew  according  to  tlie  Sa- 
maritans," as  disiin.miished  from  the  "Hebrew  according  to  the  Jews,"  and 
notes  made  of  certain  discrepancies  existing  between  them.  What  could 
these  references  mean?  No  oni'  in  Kuro])c  knew  anything  about  a  Samari- 
tan Hebrew.  Was  it  merely  an  error  of  those  ancient  fathers,  or  did  there 
somewhere  exist  a  Hebrew  15ible  differing  from  that  whicli  had  come  down 
to  us  through  the  Jews? 

As  time  went  on,  and  nothing  was  discovered  about  it,  it  gradually  be- 
gan to  be  forgotten,  or  relegated  to  the  region  of  ancient  fiction,  until  one 
day  early  in  the  seventeeth  century  when  Hililical  students  were  startled  by 
the  announcement  that  a  copy  of  this  mysterious  document  had  arrived  in 
Europe,  having  been  discovered  by  a  traveler  among  the  Samaritans  of 
Damascus. 

It  was  a  very  venerable-looking  manuscript,  written  in  the  unfamiliar 
ancient  Hebrew  letters,  and  for  that  reason  at  first  very  difficult  to  read. 

Soon  afterwards  another  copy  was  found  in  Egypt,  but  was  captured 
by  pirates,  with  the  slu'p  that  was  bringing  it  to  Europe.  Before  1630  Arch- 
bishop I'ssher  had  obtained  six, others,  and  now  there  are  altogether  about 
sixteen  Samaritan  manuscripts  in  the  European  libraries. 

The  most  famous  copy  in  existence  is  the  Synagogue  I\oll  at  Nablus, 
where  the  Samaritans,  now  but  a  few  hundred  in  number,  still  cling  to  the 
ancient  seat  of  their  race.  It  is  guarded  with  the  most  sacred  care,  and 
never  exhibited  even  to  their  own  people,  except  on  the  great  Day  of  Atone- 
ment. A  few  Europeans  have,  however,  managed  to  get  a  sight  of  it,  and 
from  their  accounts  we  learn  that  writing  which  seems  very  old  is  on  the 
hair  side  of  skins  twenty-five  inches  by  fifteen— according  to  the  Samaritan 
account,  the  skins  of  rams  offered  in  sacrifice.  The  manuscript  is  worn 
very  thin,  even  into  holes  in  many  places,  and  it  is  a  good  deal  messed,  as  if 
with  ink  spilled  over  it,  so  that  a  large  part  is  almost  illegible.  It  is  kept  in 
a  cylindrical  silver  case,  ornamented  with  engravings  of  the  Tabernacle  and 
its  furniture,  and  the  whole  is  wrapped  in  a  gorgeously  embroidered  cover 
of  red  and  gold.  The  Samaritans  assert  that  it  is  nearly  as  old  as  the  days 
of  Moses.  They  say— and  one  Russian  traveler  asserts  that  they  are 
right— that  an  inscription  runs  through  the  middle  of  the  text  of  the  Ten 
Commandments: 

I   ABISHUA,  SON   OF   PHINEHAS,   SON   OF   ELEASAK,  SON 

OF   AARON    THE    PRIEST— UPON   THEM    BE   THE    GRACE 

OF  JEHOVAH  1      TO   HIS    HONOUR   HAVE    I    WRITTEN 

THIS   HOLY    LAW    AT   THE    ENTRANCE    OF   THE    TABERNACLE 

OF  TESTIMONY    ON    MOUNT   GERIZIM,  BETH    EL,  IN 

THE   THIRTEENTH   YEAR   OF  THE    TAKING   POSSESSION   OF 

THE    LAND   OF   CANAAN.      PRAISE   JEHOVAH  ! 

The  inscription,  however,  has  been  looked  for  since,  but  in  vain.  With- 
out entering  too  minutely  into  the  question,  all  that  we  need  say  here  is,  that 
if  it  is  or  ever  was  in  the  manuscript,  it  does  not  deserve  the  slightest 
credit.     (Pp.  118  120.) 


THE   ANCIENT   SAMARITAN   CITIES 


207 


The  claim  of  such  antiquity  is  indeed  preposterous,  but 
scholars  believe  this  codex  to  be  nearly  if  not  quite  as  old  as 
the  Christian  era.  Our  oldest  texts  of  the  New  Testament 
<ZO  back  onlv  to  the  fourth  century,  and  those  of  the  Old 
Testament  are  very  much  more  recent.  This  Samaritan 
codex  is  probably  the  most  ancient  text  of  the  Pentateuch 
that  exists  to-day.  Tourists 
who  wish  to  see  it  have  that 
privilege  for  a  franc,  but  on 
all  ordinary  occasions  a  dupli- 
cate text,  several  hundred 
years  later,  is  shown. 

On  our  visit  to  Shechem, 
we  were  fortunate  in  being 
shown  both  of  these  manu- 
scripts, and  I  am  glad  to  have 
a  photograph,  made  some 
years  ago,  of  Yakob,  the  pres-      5^^,/*^.  :,^'/^a,»..^^v//>^o>/rT»A>/A/Afiu«„ 


ent  high  priest,  standing  be- 
side the  ancient  scroll. 

The  manuscript  is  fifteen 
inches  wide,  and  must  be 
more  than  a  hundred  feet  in 
length.  It  is  wound  on  two 
rolls,  inclosed  in  a  silver  case, 
double  hinged  at  the  back,  so 
that  it  may  be  opened  and  shut. 


/Tkp-A.v    lyz-^Aqr^r^WASvC-Kprnw 

•^-n^.o.  p:^^a:^  ;-,.^>»/^a/a/a/  3v 

LEAF   FROM    OLD   SAMARITAN 
MANUSCRIPT 


I  do  not  know  the  number  of 


skins  which  it  contains,  but  a  Hebrew  Pentateuch,  which  I 
purchased  in  Jerusalem,  formerly  used  in  a  synagogue  there, 
contains  the  skins  of  fifty-two  rams.  The  attendants  at  the 
Nablus  synagogue  sell  little  tin  facsimiles  of  the  case  with 
brief  extracts  from  the  texts  inside,  in  imitation  of  tlie  origi- 
nal. They  also  sell  little  manuscript  books  in  tin-  quaiiU  old 
characters,  entirely  illegible  to  the  ordinary  Hebrew  scholar. 
The  dialect  differs  little  from  their  I'alestine  Aramaic.  The 
character  is  an  independent  development  of  the  oltl  Hebrew 
writing  as   it  was  wlun    the   Samaritans   first  got   tluir   I'liita- 


2o8  lllK    OLD    WOKl.n    IN     rilK    NKW     Cl'-NlU  R  Y 

touch,  and  is  vcrv  unlike  the  square  Hebrew  characters  familiar 
to  modern  stutlents. 

I  was  veiy  greatly  interested  in  these  old  manuscripts,  and 
tried  to  have  some  conversation  with  the  priests  about  them, 
but  we  were  unable  to  speak  many  words  in  each  other's 
tongue.  I  obtained  one  of  the  little  square  bound  booklets 
containing  seventy-one  pages  of  the  manuscript.  The  book 
is  about  three  by  four  and  one-half  inches  in  size,  and  the 
writing  covers  about  two  and  one-eighth  by  three  inches  on 
each  page,  and  is  ruled  in  with  red  and  blue  pencil.  The 
writing  is  done  with  the  regular  Syrian  pen.  I  also  procured 
a  complete  page  of  a  very  old  manuscript,  and  a  fragment  of 
their  parchment  much  older  still,  how  old  I  can  only  conjec- 
ture. The  page  reproduced  will  show  the  general  style  of 
characters  employed. 

I  bought  these  with  some  eagerness,  and  I  suppose  the 
purchases  indicated  to  the  priests  that  I  was  likely  to  be  inter- 
ested in  something  more  extensive;  so  while  the  others  of  our 
party  were  examining  the  synagogue,  I  followed  the  beck  of  one 
of  the  younger  of  the  priests,  who  took  me  through  the  court 
of  the  synagogue  and  the  connecting  court  of  the  high  priest's 
house,  and  up  an  outer  stair  into  an  upper  room.  The 
women  of  the  household  ran  in  as  if  suspecting  the  young 
priest  of  some  unlawful  design,  and  made  vehement  protesta- 
tions against  what  they  judged  he  was  about  to  do.  He  drove 
them  out,  barred  the  door  and  drew  from  under  the  bed 
a  modern  copy  of  the  ancient  Pentateuch  in  a  long  double 
roll.  He  demanded  a  fabulous  price  for  this,  and  for  a  time 
I  was  wholly  unable  to  get  his  measure  of  value,  but  the  word 
"bun,"  I  discovered  at  length,  meant  English  pound,  and  he 
wanted  a  good  many  of  them  for  the  manuscript.  I  offered 
him  smaller  sums,  and  took  out  the  money.  He  looked  at 
the  gold  with  some  eagerness,  but  emphatically  refused.  He 
produced  a  tin  case,  a  crude  facsimile  of  the  silver  case  below, 
in  which  the  manuscript  belonged.  When  it  became  evident 
that  we  could  not  come  to  terms,  he  brought  out  another  and 
shorter  roll  of  the  same  width.      I   judged  it  to  be  one  of  the 


THE    ANXIENT  SAMARITAN   CITIES  209 

five  books,  and  succeeded  in  getting  from  him  the  information 
that  this  was  *'B'reshith,"  the  Hebrew  title  of  the  book  of 
Genesis,  and  its  opening  words,  "In  the  beginning."  He 
offered  this  for  the  gold  which  I  had  in  my  hand,  and  I 
agreed,  upon  condition  that  he  should  include  the  case.  After 
a  good  deal  of  bargaining,  he  consented,  and  putting  the  book 
of  Genesis  into  the  case  handed  it  to  me,  but  indicated 
by  signs  that  I  must  put  it  under  my  coat  and  not  be  seen 
leaving  the  synagogue  with  it.  It  was  too  large  to  put  under 
my  coat,  and  so  he  put  it  under  his  flowing  robe,  and  hastened 
down  the  stairs  with  it  and  into  one  of  the  dark,  overarched 
streets,  darker  now  by  reason  of  the  fast-approaching  dusk. 
Here,  with  every  air  of  mystery,  he  handed  over  the  case,  and 
I  paid  him  the  gold. 

Twilight  is  very  brief  in  Syria,  and  the  night  comes  rapidly 
when  once  the  sun  is  down.  I  was  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
city,  and  had  not  as  yet  seen  our  camp,  nor  did  I  know  its 
exact  location.  All  our  party  had  gone  back,  and  the  drago- 
men with  them,  for  my  negotiating  had  been  of  long  duration. 
If  ever  there  was  a  labyrinth  on  earth,  it  is  Nablus  in  the 
twilight.  The  streets  are  short  and  crooked,  and  end  in  blind 
alleys  that  lead  to  nowhere;  and  the  dark  tunnels  are  not 
inviting-looking  places  even  at  midday.  One  loses  all  sense 
of  direction  in  winding  about,  and  I  found  it  quite  impossible 
to  distinguish  a  single  landmark  which  I  had  seen  on  my  way 
to  the  synagogue.  I  think  I  returned  by  a  wholly  different 
way.  My  only  guide  was  the  slope  of  the  ground.  I  knew 
that  the  streets  gradually  descended  toward  the  place  where 
we  had  left  our  horses  on  their  way  to  the  camp. 

Some  of  our  people  passing  through  the  streets  that  after- 
noon had  stones  thrown  at  them,  or  were  otherwise  insulted; 
and  I  attracted  a  good  deal  of  attention  passing  through  in 
the  twilight  with  a  large  tin  manuscript  case  in  my  arms.  I 
could  not  ask  directions,  but  I  was  not  molested,  and  found 
my  way  at  length  to  the  point  where  we  had  entered  the  city, 
and  then  followed  the  road  to  the  farther  side  of  Nablus,  where 
it  wound  between  the  mountains,  and  so  came  upon  our  camp. 


::io  rili;    OLD    WORLD    IN     LllK    NKW     CKNirKV 

llappx"  as  I  was  to  ha\c  niatlr  this  purchase,  I  coukl  not 
help  regrettiiii;  that  1  still  had  only  a  fragment,  though  a 
complete  book,  of  the  ancient  text.  Hut  the  next  morning 
brought  me  good  fortune,  (^ne  of  the  other  young  priests, 
as  I  suppose  him  to  be,  whom  1  had  seen  in  attendance  at 
the  synagogue  the  day  before,  came  early  to  the  camp  and 
sought  me  out.  He  had  brought  under  his  robe  the  same 
manuscript  which  had  been  offered  me  the  night  before,  and 
now  at  a  considerably  cheaper  rate.  Kven  then  it  took  a 
good  while  to  make  the  bargain.  Such  transactions  proceed 
slowly  in  Palestine;  but  after  a  time  we  came  to  terms,  and 
he  went  back  to  the  synagogue  with  some  more  British  gold 
and  I  went  on  with  my  cherished  purchase.  I  rolled  up  the 
manuscript  in  cloth,  and  wrapped  the  case  and  all  in  my 
steamer  rug,  and  so  conv^eyed  it  to  Jerusalem,  where  I  packed 
it  and  sent  it  home.  The  picture  which  I  present  shows  the 
manuscript  in  its  case,  and  the  book  of  Genesis  partially 
unrolled  beside  it.  Like  the  original  codex,  these  scrolls  are 
fifteen  inches  wide,  and  the  one  containing  the  Pentateuch  is 
one  hundred  and  six  feet  long.  It  shows  some  signs  of  use, 
and  in  one  place  has  been  worn  in  two,  but  without  damage 
to  the  text.  It  is,  of  course,  entirely  modern,  but  I  doubt 
not  is  a  faithful  copy,  and  has  been  used  in  the  ©facial  worship 
of  this  ancient,  interesting  sect. 

When  Dr.  Robinson  was  in  Palestine  in  1838,  he  asked 
the  priest  wdiat  sum  would  buy  a  copy  of  the  Pentateuch,  and 
was  told,  "Fift}'  thousand  piastres";  that  is,  two  thousand 
five  hundred  dollars.  Again,  in  1852,  he  was  courteously 
received  by  the  Samaritan  priests,  who  offered  to  dictate 
their  commentary  to  an  interpreter,  but  refused  to  sell  a  copy 
of  the  Pentateuch  itself  for  any  sum  whatever.  Dr.  Robin- 
son adds,  "Perhaps  the  time  will  come  when  the  offer  of  a 
high  price  will  remove  their  scruples." 

I  do  not  know  any  reason  why  the  Samaritans  should 
observe  secrecy  in  the  selling  of  such  a  manuscript.  Their 
sect  is  very  small,  and  their  tithes  are  insufficient  to  support 
the  high  priest  and   maintain  their  school.      It  would  seem  to 


THE   ANCIENT   SAMARITAN   CITIES 


21  I 


me  an  honorable  and  worthy  thing  for  them  to  announce  that 
they  were  ready  to  sell  copies  of  their  Pentateuch,  and  devote 
the  proceeds  to  the  maintenance  of  their  school.  However, 
the  transfer  was  effected  with  great  show  of  secrecy,  real  or 
pretended,  and  the  air 
of  mystery  added  much 
to  the  zest  of  the  ac- 
quisition. 

After  my  return 
from  Palestine,  I 
chanced  to  notice  in 
"Innocents  Abroad"  a 
sentence  which  stated 
that  Mark  Twain  when 
there  had  procured  from 
the  high  priest  of  this 
ancient  Samaritan  com- 
munity, "at  great  ex- 
pense, a  sacred  docu- 
ment of  great  antiquity 
and  extraordinary  in- 
terest," which,  said 
Mark  Twain,  "I  pro- 
pose to  publish  as  soon 
as  I  have  finished  trans- 
hitingit."  Wondering 
if  Mr.  Clemens  had  any 
experience  similar  to 
my  own,  I  wrote  to  him, 
asking  him  whether  lie 
also  had  a  Samaritan  Pentateuch,  and  have  received  his  reply, 
stating  tliat  he  liad  not  seen  a  copy  of  "Innocents  Al^road" 
for  many  years,  and  that  all  recollection  of  buying  the  manu- 
script referred  to  has  entirely  passed  from  his  mind.  I  pre- 
sume that  what  he  bought  was  some  of  the  smaller  souvenirs, 
as  he  could  hardly  have  forgotten  a  purchase  like  mine. 

The  Samaritan  community  keeps  up  this  worship  not  onI\' 


> 

dll 

SAMARITAN    PENTATEUCH    AND   GENESIS 
(Purchased  by  the  author  at  Nablus) 


21::  THE   OLD    WOKl.l)    IN     lllK    Ni:\\    CEMURY 

in  the  synagogue  in  the  city  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Gcrizim, 
but  also  at  stated  seasons  ujioii  tlie  summit,  especially  at  pass- 
over  time,  when  the  entire  comiiumity  spends  several  days  in 
the  camp,  and  the  white  lambs,  roasted  in  the  pit,  are  eaten 
by  the  whole  company,  with  a  literal  obedience  to  the  regula- 
tions commanded  in  the  book  of  Exodus,  which  the  Jews  had 
outgrown  even  in  Christ's  time.  It  is  the  only  place  on  earth 
where  this  has  been  done  uninterruptedly  since  the  time  of 
Christ.  The  community  is  now  very  small,  and  is  diminish- 
ing. The  policy  of  forbidding  intermarriage  with  other  nations 
has  resulted  in  the  gradual  diminution  of  the  sect.  There  are 
only  about  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  people  who  now  profess 
this  faith,  and  they  expect  to  continue  a  distinct  body  until 
the  Messiah  comes,  which,  according  to  their  computation, 
will  be  six  thousand  years  after  the  creation,  or  near  the  end 
of  the  next  century.  Their  present  lack  in  the  community  is 
marriageable  young  women.  It  is  possible  that  I  shall  win 
some  one's  life-long  gratitude  by  this  announcement. 


■jtit'*^*^*- '' 


^Am,^, 


JACOB  S   WELL 


CHAPTER  XIV 

SHILOH    AND    BETHEL 

"He  must  needs  go  through  Samaria."  How  often  we 
thought  of  the  passage!  Jesus  several  times  came  and  went 
this  way  between  Jerusalem  and  Nazareth  or  Capernaum, 
Weary,  travel-stained  and  thirsty,  he  trod  this  same  rough 
road  as  he  journeyed  to  and  fro.  We  also  went  through 
Samaria,  and  came  into  Judaea,  whose  principal  tribe  was 
Judah,  the  tribe    of  the  lion. 

Shepherds  were  about  us  keeping  their  sheep  on  these 
rocky  hillsides  as  Joseph's  brethren  kept  theirs  here.  Along 
the  way  we  saw  shepherds  carrying  lambs  upon  their  shoul- 
ders; here,  too,  I  saw  one  with  the  heads  of  two  little  kids 
projecting  from  his  bosom,  and  I  remembered  the  words  of 
the  prophet  concerning  the  Good  Shepherd: 

He  shall  feed  his  flock  like  a  shepherd:  lie  shall  gather  the  lambs  with 
his  arm,  and  carry  them  in  his  bosom,  and  shall  gently  lead  those  that  are 
with  young  (Isaiah  40:  11). 

Palestine  villages  are  much  alike  inside.  There  is  a  spring 
or  well  in  or  near  the  village,  and  this  is  the  social  center  and 
fountain  of  life  of  the  town.  The  houses  are  fiat,  contiguous, 
and  without  windows  in  the  rear,  so  that  they  form  some 
pretense  of  a  wall,  which  often  is  pieced  out  with  hedges  of 
cactus.  Through  the  center  of  the  town  runs  a  little  narrow 
street — dusty  in  dry  weather,  muddy  in  wet  weather,  and 
dirty  in  all  weathers.  Upon  the  roofs  of  the  houses  are 
bundles  of  fagots  drying  for  use  in  the  ovens,  and  piles  of  less 
pleasant  fuel  arc  often  stored  with  llicm.  The  houses  are  one 
story  high;  the  better  ones  of  stone,  antl  the  poorer  ones  of 
mud.  The  roofs  are  nearly  flat,  and  arc  used  as  a  resting- 
place  in  the  evening,  and  as  points  of  observation  at  other 
times.      They  are   made  of   earth  or   ccnuMit.  and    one   passes 

213 


214 


'nil'    ol.n    WORLD    IN     INK    M:\V    CKNITIUY 


easily  from  roof  to  roof.  The  little  courtyards  are  uninvit- 
iiii;".  Poverty  is  written  large  over  the  face  of  thiiijjs.  The 
tourist  cannot  see  what  the  people  live  on,  although  when  he 
passes  along  the  roads  and  sees  the  comparatively  large  fields 
and  no  people  in  them,  he  wonders  where  are  the  men  that 
till  them.  It  is  the  exceptional  thing  to  see  a  man  employed. 
The  women  and  children  are  all  beggars,  and  it  is  just  as  well 


"WHEN  HE  PUTTETH  FORTH  HIS  OWN  SHEEP,  HE  GOETH  BEFORE  THEM  " 

that  tourists  do  not  understand  all  that  they  say  about  the 
visitors. 

The  villages  are  so  huddled,  and  the  streets  so  narrow  and 
crooked,  that  one  can  rarely  obtain  a  photograph  of  an 
interior;  but  I  found  in  Jerusalem  such  a  photograph,  with 
enough  of  open  space  in  it  to  show  something  of  the  construc- 
tion of  the  village.  The  picture  bears  no  name,  but  I  think  I 
recognize  the  village  as  Turmus  'Aya,  and  from  this  one  all 
may  be  judged. 

Jerusalem  was  not  the  first  place  in  Palestine  where  a 
national  sanctuary  was  located.  Shiloh  was  one  of  the  most 
ancient  shrines  of  Palestine.  It  is  a  ruin  now,  but  here  stood 
the   temple  of  Jehovah  in  the   days  when   Samuel   ministered 


SHILOH    AND    BETHEL 


21 


before  Eli,  and  heard  the  voice  of  God.  That  is  a  beauti- 
ful story  in  itself,  and  beautiful  also  as  an  introduction 
to  the  history  of  Samuel,  the  last  of  the  judges,  and,  with 
Moses  and  Nehemiah,  one  of  the  three  greatest  statesmen 
of  Israel. 

There  is  little  to  see  in   Shiloh  now  but  ruins,  and  these 


A   TYPICAL   SAMARITAN    VILLAGE 

are  not  very  extensive.  Some  catastrophe  had  befallen  the 
place  in  Jeremiah's  time,  as  is  recorded  in  Jeremiah  7:  14; 
26:6.  Jerome  refers  to  the  place,  but  it  was  a  ruin  in  his 
day.  It  was  at  Shiloh  that  the  annual  festivity  occurred  at 
which  the  Henjaminites  stole  their  wives,  as  tolil  in  judges 
xxi.  The  field  is  still  pointed  out  where  the  dance  took 
place.  It  ought  not  to  he  liard  to  identify  this,  for  the  direc- 
tions for  finding  tlie  place  are  very  explicit.  The  men  of  the 
other  tribes  had  sworn,  saying,  "Cursed  be  lie  that  giveth  a 
wife  to  Benjamin."  They  afterward  regretted  this  oath,  but 
could  not  prove  false  to  it,  so  they  connived  at  the  wife-steal- 


l6 


riiK  iM.n  woKi.i)  IN    rill'.  ni:\v  centtrv 


iiii^,  aiul    tolil    the  ^•(Mln_^   nu-n    just  wIktc   the   dancini^"  would 
take  place. 

And  they  said,  Behold,  there  is  a  feast  of  the  Lord  from  year  to  year  in 
Shiloli,  which  is  on  tlie  north  of  Heth-el,  on  the  east  side  of  the  high  way 
tliat  goctli  up  from  Hetli-cl  to  Shechem,  and  on  the  south  of  Lebonah 
(Judircs  21:  IQ). 

Any  cntcrprisiiiL;-  }-oung  man  could  have  found  the  place 
with  directions  so  explicit.     We  had  come  from  Shechem  and 


THE    SITE   OF   SHILOH 

were  on  our  way  to  Bethel.  We  had  eaten  our  lunch  at  the 
desolate  hamlet  of  Lebonah,  and  if  there  had  been  any  festiv- 
ity on  the  east  side  of  the  highway  toward  Shiloh,  we  could 
have  found  it.  The  young  men  of  Benjamin  followed 
directions.  The  maidens  came  and  danced  according  to  their 
custom,  and  the  young  men,  lying  in  the  vineyards  awaiting 
favorable  opportunity,  each  ran  out  and  stole  a  wife,  and  ran 
home  with  her.  The  account  ends  with  the  apologetic  state- 
ment that,  "In  those  days  there  was  no  king  in  Israel: 
every  man  did  that  which  was  right  in  his  own  eyes" 
(Judges  21  :  25). 

We  really  need  these  old-time  romances  to  brighten  up  the 


SHILOH   AND    BETHEL 


217 


present  desolation  of  the  region.  It  is  stony  now  and  life- 
less. The  visitor  rides  up  to  Shiloh  through  a  narrow  lane 
between  rough  stone  walls,  and  may  easily  see  what  little  is 
left  of  the  ancient  place  without  dismounting  from  his  horse. 
There  has  been  a  mosque  here,  and  there  are  the  remains  of 
buildings  of  some  architectural  pretensions,  but  there  is  nothing 
which  we  may  certainly  identify  with  the  scenes  here  enacted. 


OUR   CAMP    AT   TIRMUS     AYA 

Hero  it  was  that  Eli  guarded  the  ark  of  God;  here  he  sat 
at  the  gate  of  the  city  when  his  sons  had  taken  that  hoI\- 
thing  forth  to  battle;  and  here  he  fell  and  broke  his  neck 
when  he  learned  that  the  ark  had  been  taken. 

One  pauses  here  to  reflect  on  the  character  of  Samuel,  who 
at  this  time  rose  into  prominence  in  Israel.  It  was  he  who 
saved  the  nation,  and  bridged  over  its  transition  from  the 
anarchy  of  the  time  of  the  judges  to  the  stability  of  the  mon- 
archy, which,  though  it  was  against  his  protest,  he  did  so 
much  to  make  secure.  The  great  men  of  earth  have  l)een 
those  who  have  bridged  the  transitions  of  history,  and  have 
faced  its  crises  alone.  Samuel  was  one  of  these — a  patriot, 
an  educator,  and  a  statesman  of  the  very  first  order. 


^kS  iiii.;    o\A)    WOKll)    IN     \[\E    Ni:\\     eilNlTRY 

W'c  jounieycd  on  to  Tuniius  'Aya,  situated  in  a  much 
more  fertile  place  than  Shiloh,  anil  reached  by  riding;  through 
the  wheat-fields.  There  we  spent  the  night.  This  village, 
situateil  in  a  rich  agricultural  district,  possesses  neither  school 
nor  church  nor  niosc]ue.  It  has  a  flat-topped  house  of  some 
size,  in  which  the  sheik  lives,  and  from  the  roof  of  this  we 
had  a  good  view  of  the  surrountiing  village.  In  getting  to 
and  from  this  point  of  vantage,  we  were  besieged  by  as  furious 
a  set  of  little  beggars  as  ever  started  on  the  highroad  to  the 
gallows. 

Here  it  was  that  one  of  our  party  made  himself  famous  by 
collecting  bakshish  from  the  sheik.  That  official  was  much 
interested  in  a  field-glass  which  the  tourist  had,  and  desired 
to  see  it.  He  looked  through  it  with  great  satisfaction,  and 
returned  it,  but  the  tourist  held  out  his  hand  and  said,  "Bak- 
shish." The  sheik  heard  him  in  astonishment,  and  the  tourist 
repeated  the  demand  with  increased  emphasis.  Then  the 
sheik  reached  down  in  his  pocket  and  produced  an  old  copper 
coin  and  handed  it  over. 

Our  company,  however,  paid  its  usual  bakshish  to  the 
sheilc.  Wherever  we  went  in  Palestine  we  were  mulcted  for 
the  benefit  of  these  officials,  and  the  company  of  cutthroats 
whom  they  command.  Everywhere  we  were  compelled  to 
hire  a  guard.  To  be  sure,  we  had  men  enough  with  us  to 
defend  us  against  any  attack  that  was  likely  to  be  made  upon 
us,  and  no  one  would  have  been  so  likely  to  attack  us  as  the 
guards  themselves,  who  seemed  in  every  case  the  most  dis- 
reputable brigands  in  the  neighborhood.  We  paid  them  to 
stand  guard  over  themselves,  and  to  protect  us  against  them- 
selves. It  is  a  species  of  highway  robbery  which  every  one 
understands,  but  to  which  all  tourists  submit.  The  guards 
come  out  with  their  rusty  old  flintlocks,  and  sometimes  dis- 
charge them  once  or  twice  during  the  night  under  pretense  of 
shooting  at  a  jackal  or  hyena,  and  so  making  it  appear  that 
their  presence  is  a  real  advantage.  A  Texas  cowboy  with  a 
pair  of  American  revolvers  would  clear  out  a  whole  brigade  of 
them. 


SHILOH    AND    BETHEL 


21( 


The  next  morning  we  came  to  Bethel,  whose  present  name 
is  Beitin.  The  name  means  "the  house  of  God,"  a  name 
given  to  it  by  Jacob  when  he  slept  here  while  fleeing  from  his 
brother.  It  was  here  that  he  saw  the  vision  of  the  angels,  and 
anointed  the  stone  which  had  been  his  pillow,  and  made  his 
vow  to  be  faithful  to  God.  In  the  division  of  the  territory 
among  the  tribes.  Bethel  was  assigned  to  Benjamin,  and  later 
was  captured  by  the  northern  kingdom,  and  became  the  site 


OUR    PARTY    AT    BETHEL 

of  this  most  important  sanctuary.  When  Jeroboam  seceded, 
after  the  death  of  Solomon,  he  caused  a  golden  calf  to  be 
erected  here,  and  the  worship  of  Jehovah  was  carried  on  with 
that  symbol.  It  was  to  this  place  that  Amos  came,  a  valiant 
prophet  from  the  southern  kingdom,  to  deliver  his  message 
against  the  sins  of  the  time.  There  are  about  three  hundred 
and  sixty  inhabitants  in  Bethel  as  it  now  is. 

One  wearies  of  saying  what  must  be  said  again  and  again 
of  these  villages,  that  this  is  a  filthy  and  squalid  town. 
There  is  poverty,  and  hunger,  and  cold,  with  deformity,  real 
and  feigned.  There  is  little  inspiring  in  tlu'  place  itself,  or 
in  tlu'  people  who  inhabit  it.      A  beautiful  spiing  is  near,  liow- 


:20  THK   OLD   WORLD    IN     rilK    NKW   CKNTL'RV 

ever,  with  a  t'lnc  reservoii-.  ami  tlu-  country  is  more  fertile  than 
some  portions  throui^h  which  we  have  passed. 

Wc  rested  here  a  little  while,  and  before  we  mounted  our 
horses  we  sang-  a  stanza  of  the  hymn  forever  associated  with 
the  memories  of  this  place — "Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee." 

Wc  lunched  on  the  last  day  at  Birch;  and  here  we  struck 
a  good  roail.  which  brought  us  to  Jerusalem  in  a  few  hours. 
Jerusalem  looked  exactly  as  I  expected,  excepting  that  it  is 
built  out  farther  on  the  north,  and  with  newer  buildings.  We 
approached  it  from  the  north,  and  then,  keeping  to  the  left, 
came  over  Scopus  and  Olivet,  and  so  saw  it  successively  from 
the  very  best  possible  points  of  view ;  and  before  night  we 
were  able  to  say,  "Our  feet  are  standing  within  thy  gates, 
O  Jerusalem." 


CHAPTER  XV 

JERUSALEM,    THE    HOLY    CITY 

Our  first  knowledge  of  Jerusalem  is  in  connection  with 
Melchizedek,  king  of  that  city,  and  the  priest  to  whom  Abra- 
ham paid  tithes.  The  city  came  into  prominence  in  political 
history  during  the  reign  of  David.  Up  to  this  time  it  had 
remained  the  fortress  of  the  Jebusites,  who  believed  it  to  be 
so  secure  that  the  blind  and  the  lame  could  defend  it.  After 
capturing  this  stronghold,  David  moved  his  capital  here  from 
Hebron,  and  established  a  city  which  included  the  southern 
end  of  the  present  town,  together  with  somewhat  more  of 
territory  to  the  south.  Jerusalem  is  surrounded  on  three  sides 
by  deep  ravines,  which  make  it  easily  defensible,  and  probably 
account  for  its  location.  When  captured,  it  has  always  been 
captured  from  the  north,  unless  an  exception  be  made  in  favor 
of  David's  own  assault  upon  the  place,  when  the  attack  was 
made  "by  the  watercourse." 

The  present  population  of  Jerusalem  is  60,000,  of  whom 
7,000  arc  Moslems,  4,000  are  Latins,  6,000  orthodox  Greeks, 
14,000  Mohammedans,  1,000  Armenians,  and  about  30,000 
Jews.  The  latter  have  over  seventy  synagogues,  and  the 
number  is  increasing.  Much  has  been  done  to  induce  Jews 
to  return  to  Jerusalem,  and  with  some  success.  Money  is 
collected  in  various  parts  of  the  world  to  be  distributed  among 
the  poor  Jews  there.  About  a  thousand  of  the  Jews  are 
American  citizens,  but  many  of  them  have  never  seen  America. 

The  climate,  on  the  whole,  is  moderate;  extreme  heat  and 
cold  are  not  common,  though  llu-  heat  is  felt  severely,  by 
reason  of  the  glare  of  the  sun  and  the  absence  of  shade,  and 
the  cold  causes  considerable  suffering,  on  account  of  the  lack 
of  fuel. 

It  is  a  wcar\-  horseback   ride  across  Samaria  to   Jerusalem. 

221 


IIIK    OLD    WOKLD    IN     Till';    M.W     CKNTURV 

and  takes  a  week  in  tlu'  saddle.  Hut  il  is  wortli  wliile  if  (ine 
has  streiii;tli.  If  nut,  Jerusaleni  can  hr  iwiclu-d  1)\-  lail  from 
Joppa.  aiul  it  is  a  i;ood  way  to  t;o.  And  Jerusalem  is  worth 
visiting,  spite  of  the  beggars,  the  filth,  the  tleas,  the  supersti- 
tion, and  all  the  rest;  it  is  a  city  hallowed  by  more  sacred 
associations  than  any  other  on  earth. 

The  modern  Jerusalem  is  a  walled  city  inclosing  the  south- 
ern half  of  a  divided  hill,  the  valley  between  the  two  parts 
extending  north  and  south.  The  higher  of  these  elevations, 
popularly  known  as  Mount  Zion,  is  2,593  feet  above  the 
Mediterranean,  and   the  other,  Mount   Moriah,  is  2,440  feet. 

The  valley  separating  the  two  hills  is  known  as  the  Tyro- 
pcean  or  Cheesemonger's  valley,  once  a  ravine  of  consider- 
able depth,  and  spanned  by  a  bridge  from  the  temple  area  to 
the  hill  opposite,  which  is  now  so  filled  wdth  rubbish  and  built 
over  with  houses  as  almost  to  have  disappeared. 

The  latitude  of  the  city  is  31°  47'  north,  and  the  longi- 
tude 35°  14'  east.  Measuring  in  a  straight  line,  it  is  twenty- 
two  miles  from  the  River  Jordan  and  thirty-two  miles  from 
the  Mediterranean.  The  Dead  Sea,  which  is  in  plain  sight 
from  the  higher  buildings  of  the  city,  is  eighteen  miles  distant. 

Viewed  from  the  Mount  of  Olives  or  from  Scopus,  the  city 
presents  an  imposing  appearance.  The  wall  of  the  city  is 
thirty-eight  and  one-half  feet  high,  has  seven  gates  and  thirty- 
four  towers,  and  is  two  and  one-fifth  miles  around.  The  walls 
rise  from  the  brow  of  a  hill  which  itself  ascends  sharply  from 
the  valley,  and  give  to  the  town  an  appearance  of  great 
strength.  The  flat-roofed  houses,  surmounted  by  domes  and 
minarets,  give  an  impression  of  solidity,  with  variety  and  rich- 
ness. The  town  within  the  walls  covers  two  hundred  and 
nine  and  one-half  acres,  but  the  city  extends  outward  in 
several  directions,  especially  to  the  west  and  north.  The 
cleanest  and  best  part  of  the  city  is  that  outside  the  walls, 
the  section  northwest  of  the  town  being  occupied  largely  by 
foreigners,  and  having  much  the  aspect  of  a  European  town. 
Outside  the  Jaffa  gate  are  the  railroad  station,  and  a  consider- 
able business  district.      This  gate  is  the  real  commercial  center 


JERUSALEM,  THE    HOLY    CITY 


2  2^ 


of  the  city.  Just  inside  is  an  open  space  about  the  so-called 
Tower  of  David,  on  which  front  the  American  consulate  and 
several  of  the  best  business  houses. 

The  hill  on  which  Jerusalem  is  built  is  composed  of  lime- 
stone rock.  It  grinds  into  a  very  fine  dust,  particularly  irri- 
tating to  the  eyes.  In  dry  weather  it  is  freely  blown  about 
by  the  winds,  and  in  the  rainy  season  it  makes  a  very  slippery 
and  sticky  mud.      Some  effort  is  made  to  lay  the  dust  in  the 


THE    DAMASCUS   GATE   OF  JERUSALEM 

dry  season  by  the  street-sprinklers  of  Jerusalem,  Arabs  with 
goatskin  water-bags,  who  go  slowly  through  the  streets  squirt- 
ing water  upon  the  pavements  from  the  neck  of  their  leather 
bottles. 

The  city  has  always  possessed  a  meager  water  supplw  It 
has  but  one  spring,  and  this  is  wholly  inadequate  to  the  city's 
needs.  Within  a  few  months  water  has  been  piped  into  the 
city,  and  is  now  to  be  had  in  moderate  quantities.  There  are 
several  pools  in  and  about  the  city,  some  of  them  mentioned 
in  Scripture.  The  pool  of  Ilczekiah  is  just  within  the  walls, 
and  the  pool  of  Ik-thesda  is  believed  to  h:\.vr  l)cin  discovered 
by  recent  excavations,  and   is  interesting  as  showing  how  one 


224         I'll'   ^>i-i^  woKi.i)  IN    riiK  m:\\   century 

church  has  been  built  above  tlic  ruins  of  another,  and  a  third 
on  top  of  the  ruins  of  the  second,  as  the  fillini;-  up  of  the  valley 
has  raised  the  level.  In  the  \alley  of  Urtas,  outsiile  the  walls, 
are  the  pools  of  Solomon.  To  the  south  is  the  pool  of  Siloam, 
into  which  flows  the  only  living  sprini;-,  known  as  the  Fountain 
of  the  X'iroin;  and  still  south  of  this  is  the  old  pool,  into 
w  liich  now  flows  the  sewage  of  the  city. 

Jerusalem  abounds  in  cisterns.  These  are  great  bottle- 
shaped  reservoirs  hewn  out  of  rock,  narrow  at  the  top  and 
widening  out  below.  Not  only  roofs  but  the  court-yards 
are  used  for  the  collection  of  water.  Excepting  for  such 
impurities  as  the  water  gathers  from  the  roofs  and  flagging,  it 
is  not  at  all  unwholesome,  and  in  ordinary  years  proves  ade- 
quate. In  all  its  various  sieges,  Jerusalem  has  rarely  suffered 
for  lack  of  water.  An  investing  army  may  clog  a  spring  or 
destroy  an  aqueduct,  but  they  cannot  prevent  the  rain  from 
falling  on  the  just  and  unjust  alike;  hence  it  has  been  true  in 
the  past  that  Jerusalem's  very  poverty  of  water  has  been  her 
strength  in  time  of  war,  for  the  insufficiency  of  any  natural 
supply  has  caused  extraordinary  provisions  in  the  way  of  reser- 
voirs and  cisterns. 

It  was  anxiety  concerning  the  water  supply  that  caused 
King  Ahaz  to  inspect  the  aqueducts  on  the  eve  of  his  expected 
attack  from  the  combined  forces  of  Syria  and  Israel  (Isa. 
vii).  Isaiah  went  out  to  meet  him  "at  the  end  of  the  conduit 
of  the  upper  pool  in  the  highway  of  the  fuller's  field."  Ahaz 
was  evidently  planning  to  gather  all  available  sources  of  supply, 
and  in  this  doubtless  succeeded;  but  the  city  was  better  pro- 
vided with  water  than  it  was  with  moral  earnestness.  Isaiah 
later  said  : 

Ye  gathered  together  the  waters  of  the  lower  pool.  ...  Ye  made  also 
a  ditch  between  the  two  walls  for  the  water  of  the  old  pool:  but  ye  have  not 
looked  unto  the  maker  thereof,  neither  had  respect  unto  him  that  fashioned 
it  long  ago  (Isa.  22:9-11). 

In  such  a  time  Jerusalem  compared  herself  sadly  with  those 
cities  that  had  a  natural  supply  of  water;  so  Isaiah  said  that 
the  king  looked  longingly  at  the  power  of  the  kingdom  of  the 


JERUSALEM,  THE    HOLY   CITY 


=  25 


great  river  Euphrates,  and  was  about  to  mortgage  the  future 
of  his  kingdom  for  fear  the  city  could  not  withstand  a  siege, 
despising  "the  waters  of  Shiloah  that  go  softly,"  and  implor- 
ing the  help  of  the  river  of  Assyria.  Wherefore,  Isaiah 
declared   that    the    king   would    bring   the    river    down   upon 


INSIDK   THE   JAFI-A   GATE 


him   to   his  sorrow,  making  a  flood   that  would   overflow  the 
land  of  the  prince  of  the  future. 

The  meaning  of  this  is  plain  enough.  Meager  as  the  city's 
resources  were,  its  powers  of  endurance  in  time  of  siege  were 
great,  and  it  ought  to  have  relied  upon  llu-.i'  and  u])i)n  the 
help  of  Ciod  rather  than  procure  assistance  at  such  fearful  cost 
against  powers  that  were  themselves  short-lived.  If  Alia/. 
invoked  the  help  of  Assyria,  it  would  be  at  the  cost  of  heavy 
annual  tribute,  that  would  bur<lcn  princes  yet  unborn.       Isaiah 


3j6  nil,    ol.l>    WOUl.l)    IN     VWV.    Nl'-W    CENTURY 

was  ri^ht  about  it;  the  water  supply  was  adequate  for  such  a 
siege  as  tlie  city  would  then  have  needed  to  sustain.  It  often 
sufferetl  for  food,  but  sekhMii  was  short  of  water  for  drinking. 

There  is  no  excess  of  water  for  washing  purposes,  how- 
ever. The  city  does  not  abound  in  bath-tubs,  and  the  people 
give  the  most  indisputable  evidence  of  the  lack  of  bathing. 
The  Jews  are  true  to  their  tradition  neither  to  eat  nor  worship 
save  as  they  wash  oft,  but  the  ceremonial  cleansing  of  a  Jew 
is  a  decidedly  superficial  thing.  Outside  the  door  of  the 
synagogue  is  a  little  faucet,  which,  being  pressed  from  below, 
emits  a  stream  of  water  in  diameter  like  that  of  a  knitting- 
needle,  and  in  volume  just  sufficient  to  moisten  the  tips  of 
two  or  three  fingers.  This  satisfies  all  the  requirements  of  the 
case.  Outside  the  mosques  are  places  where  Mohammedans 
are  expected  to  do  some  honest  washing  before  they  go  in  to 
worship.  They  approach  an  ablution  much  more  nearly  than 
the  Jew,  but  even  the  Moslem  compromises  the  matter  some- 
what in  Jerusalem.  There  are  certain  kinds  of  uncleanness 
that  are  more  or  less  picturesque,  but  there  is  one  which  I 
never  could  witness  without  feelings  of  profound  sadness — 
the  unwashed  eyes  of  children  in  Palestine  and  Egypt.  It  is 
no  more  noticeable  in  Jerusalem  than  elsewhere,  but  it  is  quite 
as  much  so. 

It  is  the  city  inside  the  walls  that  appeals  chiefly  to  the 
tourist.  Entering  at  the  Jaffa  gate  near  the  middle  of  the  city 
on  the  west  side,  one  leaves  upon  his  right  the  ancient  Tower 
of  David,  so  called,  and  walks  straight  east  on  David  Street 
to  the  middle  of  the  temple  area.  To  his  right  as  he  enters  is 
the  Armenian  quarter,  and  toward  the  left  is  the  Christian. 
The  Mohammedan  quarter  lies  in  the  northeast  section  of  the 
city,  and  the  Jewish  in  the  south,  between  the  Armenian 
quarter  and  the  temple  area.  All  the  places  of  interest  are 
easily  found,  and  while  the  streets  are  narrow  and  crooked,  it 
is  not  very  difficult  to  keep  the  general  direction;  and  the  city 
is  so  small  that  it  is  quite  impossible  for  one  to  lose  himself 
very  long.  The  streets  are  represented  as  being  dangerous  at 
night,  and   there  is  little  occasion  for  one  to  use  them   in  the 


JERUSALEM,  THE    HOLY   CITY 


227 


evening;  for  everything  shuts  up  when  the  sun  goes  down. 
But  I  found  no  reason  to  think  that  a  stranger  who  has  any 
business  to  be  abroad  at  night  may  not  go  where  he  needs  to 
go  by  exercising  ordinary  prudence.  I  am  satisfied  that  many 
of  the  stories  told  of  the 
dangers  of  moving  about 
in  the  Orient  are  fabricated 
in  the  interests  of  guides 
who  wish  to  make  their 
services  indispensable.  Still 
I  am  far  from  maintaining 
that  a  stranger  should  go 
much  alone  at  night  in  the 
unfamiliar  portions  of  any 
Oriental  town.  It  is  usually 
safe  for  a  vigorous  man  to 
go  wherever  he  has  a  rea- 
sonable errand  and  exer- 
cises common  prudence, 
but  a  mere  curious  searcher 
for  sensations  might  easily 
find  all  he  was  seeking  in 
some  quarters  of  Jerusalem 
where  the  people  arc  fanat- 
ical and  not  too  fond  of 
the  intrusion  of  strangers. 
No  wheeled  vehicles  are 
found  within  the  city  walls 
except  carriages  from  the 
station   which  drive  barely 

within  the  larger  gates  to  the  public  buildings  close  at  hand. 
Carriages  in  sufficient  numbers  are  fouml  at  llic  r.iilwa)'  station, 
and  these  convey  the  tourists  to  the  hotels  at  break-neck  speed. 
It  would  be  hard  to  find  more  reckless  drivers  than  those  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Jerusalem.  They  stand  up  like  charioteers 
and  ply  tlic  ulii])  and  sliout  at  i:acli  other  whiK'  tjuii-  horses 
run.      Within  the  walls,  merchandise  is  transported  on  donkeys 


JEKUSALKM    WATER    CAKKll.KS 
Photograph  by  Mrs.  F.  B.  Newell 


228         i-iii'  (Ml)  WDKi.i)  IN    rill':  M'-.w  cKxi'cm' 

aiul  i.\inu-ls.  .uul  pctlostrians  nuist  croutl  against  the  sides  of 
the  buildiiii^s  to  let  them  pass.  The  sit^htsecr  must  make  his 
way  about  on  foot,  and  the  coiuhti(Mi  of  the  streets  makes 
dayhi^ht  the  desirable  time  (ov  investiii^ations.  There  are  no 
sewers  in  the  cit\-.  Jerusalem  cannot  be  a(le(iuately  described 
in  polite  society. 

The  streets  are  not  the  only  topsy-turvy  things  in  Jerusa- 
lem. The  calendar  is  as  great  a  maze  as  the  business  portion 
of  the  town.  There  arc  four  separate  Sabbaths — Christian, 
Jewish,  INIohammedan  and  Coptic.  The  Copts  have  a  calen- 
dar with  twelve  months  of  thirty  days  each,  and  one  short 
month  of  five  days,  which  become  six  on  leap  year;  the 
government  uses  the  Julian  calendar,  which  is  thirteen  days 
later  than  the  Christian;  the  Mohammedans  begin  their  era 
with  the  Hegira  of  Mohammed,  July  15  or  16,  622,  so  that 
this  year  (1902)  is  the  year  1320  with  them;  while  the  Jews 
reckon  from  the  supposed  date  of  the  creation,  and  count  this 
year  5663.  The  Armenians  reckon  from  the  supposed  begin- 
ning of  their  language,  and  count  this  year  4395,  or  from  their 
first  king,  which  would  make  the  year  1351.  The  Jews,  as 
well  as  the  Copts  and  Armenians,  have  both  a  civil  and  a 
religious  New  Year,  so  that  Jerusalem  has  four  separate  Christ- 
mas Days,  and  about  seven  New  Years.  A  calendar  to  be  of 
service  in  Jerusalem  must  have  some  twelve  different  show- 
ings, six  each  in  French  and  Arabic.  A  plain  American  must 
look  at  them  all,  and  the  moon's  phases,  and  the  various  lists 
of  feast  days,  and  guess  whether  it  is  Sunday  or  not.  A  page 
from  a  Jerusalem  calendar  will  illustrate  the  difficulty  of  the 
situation.  It  is  not  my  intention  to  introduce  puzzles  into 
this  volume,  but  I  am  considering  the  wisdom  of  opening  a 
guessing  contest  on  the  question  what  day  of  what  month  and 
what  year  is  intended  to  be  set  forth  on  this  innocent  leaf 
from  a  modern  calendar  as  used  in  Jerusalem. 

The  visitor  to  Jerusalem  speedily  becomes  aware  that  the 
city  is  not  lacking  in  commercial  enterprise.  He  is  met  at  the 
railroad  station,  or  on  the  highway,  by  agents  of  the  various 
shops,  thrusting  into  his  hand  advertising  cards  telling  where 


JERUSALEM,  THE    HOLY   CITY  229 

to  buy  olive-wood  souvenirs  and  photographs.  This  is  some- 
thing which  the  visitor  wants,  and  he  is  glad  of  this  degree  of 
activity  on  the  part  of  the  venders,  but  this  is  by  no  means 
the  extent  of  their  interest  in  him.  Representatives  of  the 
various  stores  are  in  the  hotel  corridors  with  articles  to  sell, 
and  others  wait  in  the  street  outside  shouting  to  him   not  to 


A   STREET   IN   JKKUSALEM 
Photograph  by  Mrs.  F.  B.  Newell 

buy  goods  in  the  hotel,  as  he  will  have  to  pay  more  money 
for  them.  This  warning,  while  not  wholly  disinterested,  is 
one  that  the  visitor  will  do  well  to  heed.  When  the  tourist 
sets  forth  to  make  discoveries  he  is  instantly  waited  on  by 
agents  who  offer  to  take  him  anywhere  he  wants  to  go  free  of 
expense,  and  especially  invite  him  to  visit  the  shops. 

I  quickly  fell  a  victim  to  one  of  these  representatives.  I  Ic 
was  a  lad  of  about  fourteen,  well  dressed,  and  with  beautiful, 
deep,  dark  eyes.  He  is  poor,  so  1  was  informed,  and  has 
parents  dependent   upon   his    labor.      lie  speaks  several   Ian- 


rm    o\.\)  WOULD  in    riii',  Niav  ckntury 


i;"uaL;cs,  aiul  his  iMi^lish  is  exceedingly  soft  and  persuasive, 
with  a  little  hesitation  as  to  the  precise  word,  and  a  straight 
look  into  your  eyes. 

"Will  you  conic  with  mc  to  nn--a  shop?"  he  asked;  "or 
will  vou  let  me  show  \-ou  what  n-ou  wish  to  see?  T  will  show 
you  anything,  only    go    with   me    to   my-a    shop.      I   do  not 

want  your  bakshish,"  he  said. 


MEIKKEDI 


« 


>Wi 


1911)1 


S"  Klisabetli  Rfiiic 


Julieii 

N'ovcmliic 


1901 


S.  P»ul  Arcb.  lie  Cunsl.  (Or.) 
An.  4391  =   1350  Arm. 

Coptes 

10  Halour        1618 

S''  Sophie  V.  M. 

Israelites 

8  Kislew  5662 


H^gire 

Scbaaban 


1.319 


Ut.  h.  0  m.  52— Couc*.  *•  5  « 

322  43 


<<.Ui  ^LL..n 


\^•^ 


a^ 


when  I  declined;  "I  am-serv- 
ant  of  my-a  shop." 

I  was  headed  toward  the 
Jaffa  gate,  and  his  shop  lay 
on  my  route,  so  I  went  with 
him  for  a  preliminary  look 
inside.  He  who  enters  a 
store  in  Jerusalem  is  a  marked 
man  from  that  time  forth. 
On  one  pretext  or  another 
the  proprietor  sends  a  man 
with  him  to  show  him  what- 
ever he  wishes  to  see,  or  to 
find  whatever  he  is  seeking. 

V/     They  will  not  let  him  out  of 
yrsK  ^/  J^    y       .   ,i     ,  f  ,,    . 

sight  of  one  of  their  repre- 


i,iii  ;..iji  Lij^ 


\-\\A     h-f  Jji\f 


o^^'<     L?^^:  A-^  A 


LEAF  FROM  A  JERUSALEM  CALENDAR 
By  Courtesy  of  The  Oaks  Magazine 


sentatives  if  they  can  help  it 
until  they  know  that  he  has 
made  his  purchases.  If  he 
goes  into  another  store  they 
find  it  out,  and  they  will  know  precisely  what  he  examined 
there,  and  have  one  like  it  ready  to  show  him,  a  little  cheaper, 
when  he  comes  into  their  store  again.  They  have  a  num- 
ber of  clerks  near  the  door,  who  rush  out  and  all  but  drag 
the  customer  in,  and  they  drive  bargains  more  relentlessly 
than  in  any  other  city  that  we  visited.  A  few  stores  connected 
with  religious  or  philanthropic  societies  do  not  engage  in  this  un- 
seemly rush  for  trade,  and  these  are  more  reliable  than  those 
that  employ  the  spotting  system,  but  even  these  must  meet 
the  competition,  and  are  sorely  perplexed  by  reason  of  it. 


JERUSALEM,  THE   HOLY   CITY 


23 


The  visitor  is  anxious  to  see  the  sights  inside  the  walls. 
The  mosques  of  Omar  and  El-Aksa;  the  Via  Dolorosa,  and 
the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher;  the  pool  of  Bethesda  and 
that  of  Hezekiah;  the  Jews'  wailing-place,  and  the  arch  of 
Robinson — these  he  ought  to  visit  more  than  once,  and  he 
will  see  a  good  deal  of  the  city  as  he  does  so.      From  the  top 


STREET   ARABS 
Photograph  by  Mrs.  F.  B.  Newell 

of  some  high  building  he  will  get  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  city, 
and  this  he  should  do  early,  for  having  done  so  he  can  readily 
find  his  way  to  the  more  important  points.  The  best  places 
for  this  outlook  are  the  great  Lutheran  Church  of  the 
Redeemer,  dedicated  by  the  Kmpcror  William,  and  the  Ger- 
man synagogue,  from  whose  top  is  an  excellent  view.  1  laving 
done  this,  he  may  well  plan  little  excursions  to  the  chief  points 
of  interest,  and  he  is  likely  to  have  the  good  fortune  to  lose 
his  way  enough  so  that  he  never  goes  and  comes  by  quite  the 
same  course,  and  thus  in  a  very  few  days  he  becomes  familiar 
with  Jerusalem's  chief  points  of  attraction,  and  has  some  slight 
knowledge  of  all  its  principal  streets. 


riii-  oi.n  woui.D  in    riii'.  m'.w  ckn'itkn 


Ik-  who  outers  Jcrusalcni  at  the  Jaffa  t;ate  and  walks 
straight  ahead  tliroui^h  the  narr.nv  streets,  with  tlieir  Oriental 
bazaars,  their  camels,  and  their  thousand  smells,  comes  at 
length  to  the  temple  area  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  city, 
upon  which  stand  two  great  mosques.  One  of  these  is  the 
Mosque  of  Omar,  said  to  cover  the  site  of  the  tem])le;  but  the 


'»«iirtlri)iii-'i.^j 


GAMBLING 


Photograph  by  Mrs.  F.  B.  Newell 


temple  really  stood  to  the  south,  and  nearer  to  the  place  where 
the  Mosque  of  Kl-Aksa  stands.  The  latter  is  interesting 
within,  but  the  former  is  one  of  the  chief  attractions  of  Jeru- 
salem. It  is  octagonal  in  shape,  surmounted  by  a  dome  of 
exquisite  proportions,  and  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  archi- 
tectural structures  in  the  world. 

We  visited  the  Mosque  of  Omar  under  the  guidance  of  our 
good  dragoman  Shukrey,  and  were  met  by  one  of  the  sheiks 
of  the  mosque  who  took  us  in  charge.  At  the  door  we  were 
given  the  usual  great  leather  slippers  to  put  on  over  our  shoes, 


JERUSALEM,  THE    HOLY   CITY 


233 


and  these  are  worn  through  both  mosques,  and  left  at  the  door 
of  the  Mosque  of  El-Aksa. 

The  sheik  who  took  us  in  charge  was  a  pleasant,  easy- 
going old  fellow,  who  believes  implicitly  all  the  stories  which 
they  tell  about  the  mosque,  or  seems  to.  Under  his  guidance 
we    saw  the   great   rock  which    stands   in    the   middle   of  the 


THE    MOSQUE    OF   OMAR 
Photograph  by  Miss  Anna  M.  Matthews 

mosque.  It  is  the  veritable  top  of  the  mountain,  and  is  said 
to  be  the  place  where  Abraham  offered  up  Isaac,  though  the 
Samaritans  declare  that  this  occurred  on  Mount  Gerizim,  and 
Dean  Stanley  agrees  with  them.  The  stone  is  fifty-six  feet 
long  and  forty  feet  wide,  and  the  Mohammedans  count  it 
particularly  sacred.  A  large  circular  hole  near  the  southern 
end  of  the  rock  seems  to  have  been  used  in  connection  with 
the  ancient  sacrifices,  being  [)crha))s  a  conduit  for  the  blood 
to  flow  into  the  valley  beneath.  hroni  tin's  rock,  say  the 
Mohammedans,  Mohammed  ascended  into  heaven.  The  rock 
started  to  go  with  him,  and  was  kept  on  earth  only  1)>'  the 
strong  grasp  of  the  angel  Gabriel,  whose  finger  marks  are  still 


2^^  TllK    OLO    WOKl.I^    IN    'I'l  1 1'.    M'.W    Cl'.NIl '  1<  N' 

sliowii  oil  the  rocl<.  1  woiulcrcd  wlicthri-  llu-  old  sheik  re.illy 
beheved  these  to  he  the  fini^er  marks  of  Gabrieh  and  1  rather 
think  he  (.h\l.  We  lia\e  all  lieard  of  the  coffin  of  Mohammed, 
suspended  between  heaven  and  earth.  It  is  this  rock  that,  in 
roalitv,  eives  rise  to  the  tradition.  The  an<jel  Gabriel  sue- 
ceeded  in  stopping  it,  but  ditl  not  get  it  back  into  jilace,  and 
it  still  hangs  without  support.  To  prove  this  we  were  taken 
downstairs  into  a  little  chamber  under  the  rock  and  shown 
that  it  is  possible  to  get  under  it.  At  the  farther  side  of  this 
little  recess  is  a  white  plastered  w^all,  upon  which  the  sheik 
raps  to  show  that  it  is  hollow  behind,  thus  professing  to  prove 
that  the  rock  has  no  support.  The  partition  was  built,  so 
tliey  told  us,  out  of  consideration  for  timid  women  who,  when 
permitted  to  enter  the  cavern,  suffered  great  nervous  shocks 
when  they  saw  that  there  was  nothing  to  hold  up  the  enor- 
mous mass  of  rock  above  them.  For'their  sake  the  plaster 
partition  exists,  and  who  dare  say  that  the  forty  feet  beyond 
it  is  not  mere  empty  space?  No  Mohammedan  cares  to 
inquire  behind  the  partition,  ind  no  Christian  dares. 

It  is  really  beautiful  to  behold  this  concession  to  the 
timidity  of  women.  It  was  the  only  concession  that  I  noticed 
on  their  behalf  in  any  of  the  mosques  that  we  visited.  In 
Mohammedan  mosques  and  Jewish  synagogues  and  the  British 
House  of  Commons  the  women  are  kept  behind  a  screen,  and 
are  tolerated  on  the  theory  that  their  presence  is  not  recog- 
nized. It  is  quite  touching  to  see  how  for  their  sake  a  par- 
tition has  been  constructed  just  where  it  helps  out  the  boldest 
of  all  ecclesiastical  lies.  In  the  Orient  it  seems  women  are 
not  quite  useless,  wdiile  in  the  civilized  world  it  is  the  men 
who  must  be  thankful  they  still  have  a  place. 

In  the  Mosque  of  El-Aksa  one  wanders  about  over  a  good 
deal  of  territory,  but  the  place  has  no  focus,  as  that  of  Omar 
has.  There  is  no  pulpit,  no  altar;  the  worshiper  faces  toward 
Mecca  and  prays.  When  he  reads  the  Koran  he  rocks  back 
and  forth  and  chants  in  a  sing-song  tone  without  understand- 
ing a  word  of  what  he  says.  When  he  prays  he  prostrates 
himself  repeatedly  with   his  forehead  to  the  carpet,  advancing 


JERUSALEM,  THE    HOLY   CITY 


235 


at- intervals  to  other  squares  in  regular  order.  The  mosques 
in  general  are  less  attractive  places  than  one  expects  to  find. 
The  decorations  are  comparatively  cheap.  There  is  an  excess 
of  stucco  and  of  tinted  calcimine.  The  worshipers,  what  few 
there  are,  are  apparently  devout,  and  I  doubt  not  in  most 
cases  really  so.  But  I  could  wish  there  were  more  of  them, 
rather    than    less.      If    our    churches   were    as    empty   as   the 


THE    LNSUPl'OKTEn    K( )(  K 


mosques,  we  should  be  well-nigh  unto  despair.  The  chief 
business  of  many  of  them  seems  to  be  the  renting  of  slippers. 
The  Mosque  of  El-Aksa  contains  two  pillars,  between 
which,  if  a  man  can  crowd  himself,  he  is  sure  to  get  to 
heaven.  On  certain  days  when  there  were  crowds  in  Jerusa- 
lem, these  pillars  occasioned  a  good  deal  of  disturbance  on 
the  part  of  those  eager  to  get  between,  ami  more  or  less  sorrow 
to  the  fat  people  who  tried  them  in  x.iin.  Somebody  got  killed 
once  in  a  riot,  or  because  of  too  strong  effort  to  get  through — 
1  have  forgotten  which — and  so  the  pillars  are  inclosed  now 
with  iron  pickets.  One  can  see  thai  the  attrition  of  so  many 
hiiiulreds    of   thousands    of   the    l.iitliful    has    worn    awav   the 


:;,^('  THK    0\.\^   WOKl.l)    IN     I'llK    NKW    CKNTrRY 

jtillars  a  little,  so  that  a  somewhat  fatter  man  ean  now  <;et 
through  than  could  ha\'e  succeeded  some  centuries  ago.  Thus 
we  observe  that  even  with  tin-  Mohammedans  there  are 
marked  tendencies  toward  liberalism,  and  an  inclination  to 
make  it  easier  to  get  to  heax'en.  Inasmuch  as  this  is  closed, 
however,  there  remains  yet  another  way  of  being  sure  of 
one's  salvation,  and  one  which,  to  a  corpulent  person,  is  a 
cheaper  method.  In  the  Mosque  of  Omar  is  a  stone  with 
certain  nails  in  it.  There  once  were  thirteen  of  these,  or  at 
least  there  are  thirteen  holes,  but  one  by  one  the  nails  have 
been  drawn  out  by  spiritual  power  and  flown  away  to  heaven. 
Shukrey,  who  interpreted  all  traditions  to  us  with  rare  tact 
and  good  sense,  told  us  the  purpose  of  this  stone,  while  the 
sheik,  watching  him  narrowly,  turned  to  us  at  the  close  of 
every  sentence  with  an  emphatic  "Yes,  yes."      Shukrey  said: 

"Now  this  is  the  way  our  friends  have  to  get  a  little 
money.  They  say  that  there  were  once  thirteen  nails  in  this 
stone,  and  that  they  have  all  gone  but  three  and  a  half,  and 
when  these  go,  the  world  will  come  to  an  end;  and  they  say 
that  whoever  puts  money  on   these  nails  will  go  to  heaven." 

To  this  the  sheik  emphatically  responded,  "Yes,  yes,  go 
to  heaven  sure!"  Thereupon  he  squatted  beside  the  stone, 
prepared  to  take  charge  of  the  money  that  should  be  deposited. 

One  of  the  gentlemen  began  by  laying  down  a  franc.  His 
h'berality  pleased  the  sheik,  who  said: 

"You  go  to  heaven  I      You  go  to  heaven!" 

A  lady  came  next  and  put  down  half  a  franc,  and  he 
looked  at  her  in  pity,  and  said: 

"You  go  to  heaven — half-way." 

It  thus  became  evident  that  if  one  cares  to  invest  at  all  it 
is  well  to  deposit  a  franc,  for  what  is  the  use  of  paying  half 
the  money  and  going  only  half  the  way?  Half-way  to  heaven 
is  an  uncomfortable  place  for  one  to  stop,  according  to 
Mohammedan  tradition,  for  when  Mohammed  comes  he  is  to 
sit  on  a  column  that  protrudes  from  the  wall  of  the  mosque, 
and  the  people  on  the  earth  must  cross  a  bridge  from  that 
point  to  the  Mount  of  Olives.     The  bridge  will  be  narrow  as 


JERUSALEM,  THE    HOLY   CITY 


-'37 


a  Damascus  blade,  and  the  faithful  are  to  cross  it  in  safety. 
He  who  only  gets  half-way  has  no  prospect  but  a  hard  fall  to 
the  valley  below. 

These  things  are  interesting,  but  one  finds  himself  coming 
back  in  imagination  to  the  time  when  the  temple  stood  here, 
and  the  great  Jewish  nation  gathered  for  its  solemn  festivals. 
It  requires  but  little  effort  of  fancy  to  remove  the  mosques 
from  the  temple  area  and  substitute  the  temple  whose  main 


THE    MOSQUE   OF   EL-AKSA 

outlines  are  so  familiar.  One  remembers  the  great  convoca- 
tions in  the  days  of  Solomon  and  Zerubbabel  and  Nehemiah, 
but  even  more  one  recalls  the  last  days  of  the  earthly  life  of 
Christ,  so  intimately  associated  with  this  spot.  Just  to  the 
north  of  the  temple  area  stands  the  Golden  Gate,  popularly 
spoken  of  as  the  gate  of  Christ's  triumphal  entry.  This,  of 
course,  is  wrong,  for  the  present  walls  of  Jerusalem  were 
erected  between  1536  and  1539.  Not  one  stone  was  left 
upon  anr)ther  that  stofxl  in  ("hrist's  day.  Neither  ("lirist  nor 
Mohammed  passed  through  the  present  gate,  and  the  theory 
of  some  Christians  that  Christ  is  to  re-enter  it,  and  of  Moham- 
medans that    M<'liamnic(l  is  to  return    tlnoiii'li  it,  ha\e  onI\'  a 


-o 


i^         I  111-:  oi.n  WORLD  IN   riiK  m:\v  century 


sentimental  value.  It  is  now  walled  up,  and  the  Mohamme- 
dans afrnni  tliat  Urus.ikMn  wiMild  fall  if  the  L;ate  were  reopened, 
and  that  some  momentous  change  is  to  occur  when  the  gate 
is  fmallv  restored  to  use.  However,  the  wall  at  this  point 
probably  rests  on  the  ancient  foundation,  and  the  gate  is 
near  that  through  which  Christ  passed  as  he  entered  the  city 
on  the  Palm  Sunday  morning  and  came  to  the  temple. 

It  was  a  week  of  storm  and  stress.      At  the  end  as  at  the 
^        beeinnine:  of   his   ministry,  he   cleansed   the   temple   from   its 
mercenaries,  and  assumed  authority  in  the  house  of  God.      On 
Sunday,  Monday  and  Tuesday  he  was  there;   at  first  with  an 
authority  that   no  one  dared  question,  but   later  in   the  midst 
of  constant  and   increasing  tumult.      Sunday  was  his  day  of 
triumph;    Monday,   his  day  of  undisputed   authority;    Tues- 
day, the  day  filled   from  morning  to   night  with  controversies 
and   intrigues   against  him;    Wednesday    he    seems    to    have 
spent   in   retirement  at  Bethany;   on  Thursday  afternoon  he 
entered   the  city   to   eat  the   passover  with  his  disciples;   and 
on  Friday  he  was  crucified.      Such  is  the  simple  outline  of  that 
strenuous    week     that     began     with     the     crowd's     shout    of 
''Hosanna,"  and   ended  with   its  cry  of  "Crucify  him,"  and 
the  despair  that  then  settled   over  the  souls  of  his  followers. 
One's  mind  reverts  to  that  Tuesday  of  Passion  Week;   the 
day  when   one  delegation  after  another  approached   Jesus  in 
the  futile  endeavor  to  entangle  him  in  controversy,  and  com- 
mit   him    to   some   proposition    that    would    give    them    legal 
ground    for  his   destruction.      It   is   impossible    for   any   one, 
however  unsympathetic  or  even  prejudiced,  to  hear  the  story 
of  that  day  without  the  heartiest  admiration  for  his  skill  and 
patience  and   courage.      Down   to  the  very  close   of  the  day 
we  watch   him  with   unabated   interest.      He  had  so  silenced 
his  disputants  that  they  no  more  dared  ask  him  any  ques- 
tion ;   on  the  other  hand,  he  had  given  them  a  question  which 
they  dared   not  answer.      His  enemies  fell   back,  and   so  also 
did   his  friends;   for  they  saw  the  storm  coming,  and  realized 
that  the  Master's  popularity  had  waned.      So  he  who  entered 
the  temple  in  triumph   on  Sunday,  left  it  unattended  save  by 


JERUSALEM,  THE   HOLY  CITY 


239 


his  disciples  on  Tuesday  afternoon.  As  he  passed  out  he 
did  not  fail  to  notice  the  widow  casting  in  her  mite,  and 
doubtless  paused  as  he  walked  through  the  court  of  the 
Gentiles  to  receive  the  delegation  of  Greek  proselytes,  who  at 
this  time  pressed  forward  to  see  him.  Then  out  of  the  city 
and  across  to  the  Mount  of  Olives  he  passed,  his  former 
adherents  watching  him   timidly,  and   his  enemies  with  deep 


JERUSALEM    FROM    OLIVET 

maledictions.  He  paused  upon  the  Mount  of  Olives  to  look 
back  upon  Jerusalem,  glorious  in  the  sunset,  and  his  disciples, 
even  in  that  hour,  could  not  refrain  from  expressing  to  him 
their  admiration  of  the  buildings  and  temple.  It  was  on  this 
day  that  Jesus  declared  that  not  one  stone  of  Jerusalem 
should  be  left  upon  another,  and  also  affirmed — most  astound- 
ing must  have  seemed  his  faith — that  his  kingdom  was  to 
triumph  over  all  the  earth. 

One  remembers  all  this  as  he  stands  u])(m  the  tcini)le  area, 
and  fits  one  scene  after  another  of  gospel  narrative  into  its 
place  on  that  spot,  so  crowded  with  historic  associations. 

Most  tourists  speak  of  the  Church  of  tin-  Holy  .Scpulcher 
as   that  which  has   the  most   historic  interest.       To  me   it  was 


240  riiK  01, D  WOULD  IN    iiii;  m;\\   ci:ni"irv 

not  st\  In^MMul  all  comparison  the  most  interesting  spot 
within  the  walls  oi  J  (.Tus.ilem  is  tlie  place  where  the  temple 
stood. 

Not  one  stone  was  left  on  another  of  the  temple  as  it  stood 
in  L'hrist's  da)-,  and  there  is  only  one  stone  in  existence  which 
we  are  certain  belonged  to  it.  In  the  famons  Imperial 
Mnsenm  at  Constantinople  is  a  stone,  discovered  in  1871,  that 
marked  the  limit  of  the  Court  of  the  Gentiles,  and  bears  this 
inscription,  in  seven  lines  of  Greek  capitals:  "No  stranger  is 
to  enter  within  the  balustrade  round  the  temple  and  enclosure. 
Whoever  is  caught  will  be  responsible  to  himself  for  his 
death."  Near  this  stone,  as  he  emerged  from  the  temple 
for  the  last  time,  Jesus  may  have  met  the  Greeks  who  had 
come  to  the  apostles,  desiring  to  see  him.  There  could  be 
no  greater  contrast  than  between  the  exclusiveness  of  a  religion 
from  whose  temple  remains  only  this  significant  stone,  and 
the  spirit  of  world-wide  sympathy  which  was  in  Jesus. 

Underneath  the  temple  area,  one  may  visit  the  old-time 
structure  known  as  Solomon's  stable,  where  certain  courses  of 
masonry  still  remain  that  may  date  from  the  time  of  Solomon. 
The  southern  end  of  the  temple  area  is  built  up  on  arches, 
raising  the  slope  of  the  hill  to  a  level  with  its  summit,  and 
the  portion  underneath  was  doubtless  utilized  for  the  care  of 
animals  intended  for  sacrifices.  In  the  time  of  the  Crusades, 
the  soldiers  stabled  their  horses  there,  and  the  mangers  are 
still  to  be  seen  that  have  come  down  from  ancient  days. 

Outside  and  below  the  temple  area,  one  finds  two  inter- 
esting places.  One  of  these  is  at  Robinson's  arch,  where 
Dr.  Robinson,  the  noted  American  scholar,  discovered  the 
lower  courses  of  the  abutment  of  a  great  bridge  that  once 
spanned  the  Tyropoean.  The  other  is  the  Jews'  wailing-place, 
where  every  Friday  afternoon  the  Jews  come  to  lament  over 
the  desolation  of  their  city,  and  pray  for  its  restoration.  This 
scene  is  more  or  less  spectacular,  but  there  is  some  sincerity 
visible,  Jews,  most  of  them  old,  stand  with  their  faces  to 
the  wall,  reading  from  their  Hibles,  and  rocking  back  and  forth 
as   they  do    it,  chanting  in    a  low,   monotonous   voice.      It   is 


JERUSALEM.  THE    HOLY    CLIV 


241 


popularly  said  that  they  read  from  Lamentations,  but  the 
Psalms  were  generally  in  use  on  the  Friday  that  I  was  there. 
Some  of  these  people  gave  evidence  of  sincere  and  self-forget- 
ful worship,  but  some  got  their  living  out  of  it,  being  employed 
to  keep  up  this  wailing  on  behalf  of  absent  Jews  who  send 
contributions,  and  who  forward  nails  to  be  driven  into  the 
cracks  in  the  walls.  There  are  a  good  many  lines  of  these 
nails,  ancient  and  modern,  driven  in  their  places  by  the  masters 


--'  "-K   ">■•"'.. '. 


I        ■.,..,1..,,. 


MHOE 

PEYEIQ 


OYnE 


It 


TH1-:   ONE    liliMAlNlNG   STONK 


of  these  assemblies.  Every  clear  Friday  brings  out  a  number 
of  kodaks,  and  not  all  the  Jews  who  come  out  to  wail  are 
wholly  unconscious  of  the  presence  of  the  camera.  The 
impression  of  the  scene  as  a  whole  is  that  it  is  generally  arti- 
ficial, and  li]<c  many  of  the  scenes  in  the  Orient  that  are  sup- 
posed to  represent  the  life  of  the  people,  is  largely  gotten  up 
for  its  spectacular  effect  and  its  cash  value.  Still,  1  ha\e  in 
mind  one  Jew,  well  dressed  and  ai)|)aieiitl\-  wealth}-,  who 
came  holding  his  little  boy  by  the  hand,  and  stood  teaching 
the  earnest-looking  child  the  lesson  of  the  city's  former  glorv. 
and  instilling  in  his  mind  the  hope  of  the  restoration  oftheold 
home  of  his  people.      There  was  nothing  artificial  about  that  ; 


-M-  i"iii-:  oi  1)  woKii)  IX    rill'.  m:\v  (.I'.xrruv 

il  was  .1  niaiiift-'slly  simple  and  sincere  act.  ami  one  that  called 
fortli  the  sympathy  of  those  who  saw  il.  And  can  any  one 
witness  the  sincere  grief  of  a  llehrew  over  the  desolation  of 
his  city,  anil  not  share  w  ith  him  st)mething  of  the  sorrow  that 
millions  of  Jews  ha\-e  felt  when  they  read  the  words  of 
Jeremiah? 

How  cioth  ihc  city  sit  solitary,  that  was  full  of  i)eoplcl 

How  is  slie  become  as  a  widow! 

She  that  was  great  among  the  nations,  and  ])rincess  among  the  provinces, 

How  is  she  become  trihutaryl 

She  weepeth  sore  in  tlie  night,  and  her  tears  are  on  her  cheeks; 
Among  all  her  lovers  she  hath  none  to  comfort  her; 
All  her  friends  ha\e  dealt  treacheronsly  with  her, 
They  are  become  her  enemies. 

Judah  is  gone  into  captivity  because  of  affliction,  and  because  of  great 

servitude; 
She  dwelleth  among  tiie  heathen,  slie  findeth  no  rest; 
All  her  jiersecutors  overtook  her  within  the  straits. 

The  ways  of  Zion  do  mourn,  because  none  come  to  the  solemn  assembly; 

All  her  gates  are  desolate,  her  priests  do  sigh: 

Her  virgins  are  afflicted,  and  she  herself  is  in  bitterness. 

Her  adversaries  are  become  the  liead,  her  enemies  prosper; 
For  the  Lord  hath  afflicted  her  for  the  multitude  of  her  transgressions; 
Her  young  children  are  gone  into  captivity  before  the  adversary. 
And  from  the  daughter  of  Zion  all  her  majesty  is  departed! 

Jerusalem  is  the  spot  which  most  of  all  in  Palestine  dispels 
one's  illusions  and  shatters  one's  ideal.  If  in  any  proper 
sense  Jerusalem  could  be  counted  an  exponent  of  the  Christian 
faith,  its  present  condition  would  go  far  toward  disproving 
the  argument  in  favor  of  Christianity  from  its  effects.  Hut  in 
truth,  Jerusalem  had  ceased,  even  in  the  day  of  the  apostles, 
to  be  in  anything  save  sentiment  the  center  of  the  Christian 
faith. 

The  feeling  came  to  me  often  in  Jerusalem  that  the  present 
city  is  an  obstruction  to  faith,  a  fetter  to  the  imagination,  and 
a  fearful  anachronism.  If  it  were  only  a  ruin  like  Thebes, 
one  could  sit  and  study  it  with  an  ardor  which  the  squalid 
present   forbids.      If  the  city  were  waste  and  without   inhabi- 


JERUSALEM,  THE    HOLY   CITY 


243 


tants,  the  excavator  could  dig  it  over  like  Pompeii,  and  the 
student  could  study  its  foundations  with  real  historic  enthusi- 
asm. But  as  the  filth  and  debris  of  centuries  have  filled  the 
Tyropctan  valley  with  rubbish,  over  which  is  built  the  present 
filthy  town,  so  the  accretions  of  centuries  of  superstition  have 
covered   o\'er  the  meager  memorials  of  a  past  rich   in  historic 


IHK    Ji:\VS     WAII.lNCi    1^1, ACE 


association  and  in  religious  value.  To  find  them  one  must 
dig;  but  one  finds  the  surface  pre-empted  by  traditions  that 
forbid  the  exercise  of  honest  inquiry.  One  can  never  unearth 
a  fact  in  Jerusalem  without  upsetting  a  tradition,  and  it  is  as 
a  believer,  and  not  as  an  iconoclast,  one  would  prefer  to  visit 
Jerusalem. 

It  is  difficult  to  answer  the  question,  What  i)iirp()se  Jeru- 
salem is  serving  in  the  world?  If  earth  has  a  superfluous  city, 
this  would  seem  to  be  the  one.  It  is  a  constant  impertinence, 
forever  thrusting  itself  between  the  visitor  ;nul  his  ideal.  It 
possesses   no  single  spot  witliin    tlie  walls  where  a   person  can 


-44  I'lll'"-    ^"  '^    WUKID    IN     l-lll".    M;W    Cl'.NITRY 

reconstruct  a  nobk-  past  without  the  distortion  and  linn'lation 
of  unfounded  and  supt,  rtluous  tradition.  Tlicre  is  no  place- 
in  the  Orient  where  tlie  commercial  spirit  is  more  sordid,  ov 
mcndicanc\"  more  shameless,  or  tilth  more  revolting.  It  is 
harder  here  than  an\-\\  here  else  to  [)ity  disease,  or  to  be  charit- 
able towartl  povert}-,  since  disease  is  made  commercially 
profitable,  and  poverty  is  obtrutled  upon  the  visitor  in  hope 
of  a  pittance  that  will  save  the  necessity  of  honest  toil. 
There  is  no  place  where  sacred  spots  are  more  industriously 
made  secular  through  bare-faced  ecclesiastical  h'ing,  and 
arrant  religious  cupidity.  Again  and  again  a  man  finds  him- 
self raising  the  (juestion,  whether  it  would  not  be  better  for 
the  world  if  this  masquerade  of  mendicancy  behind  the  mask 
of  religion  had  never  been  made  possible  by  the  last  rebuild- 
ing of  Jerusalem.  What  strife  there  has  been  for  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Holy  Sepulcher!  How  many  battles  have  been 
waged  to  recover  it  for  the  possession  of  the  church  !  And  now 
that  the  Christians  have  it,  the  Turk  must  stand  guard  with 
loaded  gun  and  fixed  bayonet  to  keep  these  Christians  from 
fighting  over  an  empty  tomb  and  a  still  more  empty  tradition. 
Would  it  not  have  been  better  if  there  had  been  no  such 
tradition?  W^)uld  it  not  have  been  for  our  profit  if  the 
reticence  ot  the  gospel  had  been  implicitly  relied  upon  as 
expression  of  divine  intent?  W'ould  we  not  have  had  more 
real  religion  if  faith  had  reposed  not  in  the  cave  which  may 
have  held  the  Lord's  dead  body,  but  in  the  living  spirit  by 
which  he  is  manifest  to  the  world?  Such  thoughts  as  these 
I  found  myself  thinking  again  and  again.  1  remembered  how 
much  more  vivid  and  satisfactory  a  picture  had  been  possible 
of  the  ancient  w^orld  at  Ephesus  where  there  were  ruins,  and 
only  ruins,  that  tell  the  story  of  a  splendid  past.  I  wondered 
if  the  same  thoughts  had  not  occurred  to  others,  and  I  found 
that  I  was  by  no  means  the  only  visitor  to  Jerusalem  to  whom 
the  same  idea  had  come.  Charles  Dudley  Warner's  words  on 
this  point  so  fully  agree  w'ith  my  own  feeling,  that  I  quote  a 
paragraph  entire  from  his  "In  the  Levant." 


JERUSALEM,  THK    HOLY   CITY  245 

Jerusalem,  in  fact,  is  encrusted  with  layer  upon  layer  of  inventions,  the 
product  of  credulity,  cunning,  and  superstition,  a  monstrous  growth  always 
enlarging,  so  that  already  the  simple  facts  of  history  are  buried  almost 
beyond  recognition  beneath  this  mass  of  rubbish.  Perhaps  it  would  have 
been  better  for  the  growth  of  Christianity  in  the  world  if  Jerusalem  had 
been  abandoned,  liad  become  like  Carthage  and  Mempliis  and  Tadmore  in 
tiie  wilderness,  and  the  modern  pilgrim  were  free  to  choose  his  seat  upon 
a  fallen  wall  or  mossy  rock,  and  reconstruct  for  himself  the  pageant  of  the 
past,  and  recall  the  Living  Presence,  undisturbed  by  the  impertinences 
which  belittle  the  name  of  religion.  It  has  always  been  held  well  that  the 
|)lace  of  the  burial  of  Moses  was  unknown.  It  would  perhaps  have  con- 
duced to  the  purity  of  the  Christian  faith  if  no  attempt  had  ever  been  made 
to  break  through  the  obscurity  which  rests  upon  the  place  of  the  sepulcher 
of  Christ.  Invention  has  grown  upon  invention,  and  we  have  the  Jerusalem 
of  to-day  as  a  result  of  the  exaggerated  importance  attached  to  the  local- 
ization of  the  Divine  manifestation.  \Yhatever  interest  Jerusalem  has  for 
the  antiquarian,  or  for  tiie  devout  mind,  it  is  undeniable  that  one  must  seek 
in  other  lands  and  among  otiier  peoples  for  the  robust  virtue,  the  hatred  of 
shams  and  useless  forms,  the  sweet  charity,  the  invigorating  principles,  the 
high  thinking,  and  the  simple  worship  inculcated  by  the  Founder  of 
Christianity. 

When  Jericho  was  destroyed  by  Joshua,  a  curse  was  re- 
corded against  the  man  who  should  rebuild  the  city.  (Josh  6: 
26.)  Nine  hundred  and  eighteen  years  went  by  before  a  man 
was  found  who  dared  to  brave  this  historic  imprecation.  But  in 
the  commercially  prosperous  and  spiritually  disastrous  reign 
of  Ahab,  Hiel  the  Bethelitc  rebuilt  Jericho,  and  the  people 
saw  with  awe  the  fearful  penalty  inflicted  on  his  household. 

He  laid  the  foundation  thereof  with  tlie  loss  of  .\biram  his  hrstborn, 
and  set  up  the  gates  thereof  with  the  loss  of  his  youngest  son  Segub; 
according  to  the  word  of  Jelmvah,  which  he  spake  by  the  hand  of  Joshua 
the  son  i>f  Nun      1  Kings  16:  34). 

History  does  not  say  what  penalty,  if  any,  was  visited  on 
the  man  who  last  rebuilt  Jerusalem.  Let  us  hope,  since  he 
probably  "wrought  in  a  sad  sincerity,"  that  his  household 
escaped. 


CllAPTliR    X\'l 
JERUSALEM    AND    ITS    ENVIRONS 

Anioii^"  the  many  questions  concernii\<T  localities  in  and 
about  Jerusalem,  one  at  least  is  of  genuine  interest  to  others 
than  special  students.  This  is  the  question  of  the  north 
boundaiN-  of  the  city  as  it  existed  in  the  time  of  our  Lord. 
The  reason  for  special  interest  in  this  inquiry  is,  that  upon  its 
answer  hinges  the  cpiestion  of  the  genuineness  of  the  Holy 
Sepulcher  and  the  traditional  Calvary. 

For  more  than  sixteen  hundred  years  the  Holy  Sepulcher 
has  been  accepted  as  genuine  by  the  great  majority  of  Chris- 
tians. The  Greeks  and  Roman  Catholics  and  Copts  and 
Armenians  still  accept  it  as  the  genuine  site,  and  quarrel 
over  its  periodical  possession  and  the  title  to  space  adjacent 
to  it.  But  since  the  time  when  Dr.  Edward  Robinson,  the 
American  scholar,  published  his  "  Researches,"  in  1856,  the 
genuineness  of  the  spot  has  been  seriously  questioned  by  an 
increasing  number  of  those  who  visit  the  place.  Dr.  Robin- 
son was  by  no  means  the  first  scholar  to  raise  this  question. 
A  German  author  named  Korte,  in  173S,  strongly  denied  that 
the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher  could  cover  the  site  of  the 
real  Calvary,  and  since  his  day  there  has  never  been  a  time 
when  the  tradition  has  passed  unchallenged.  But  Dr.  Robin- 
son gave  form  and  shape  to  the  theory,  and  his  investigation 
strongly  tended  to  show  that  the  site  occiq:)ied  by  the  present 
Cliurch  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher  must  have  been  within  the 
walls  in  the  time  of  Christ.  More  recently  still,  excavations 
in  Jerusalem  have  revealed  remains  of  the  west  wall  in  line  in 
three  separate  places,  from  near  the  Jaffa  gate  to  almost  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  city  as  it  now  is,  and  a  few  years 
since  the  remains  of  tlie  north  wall,  of  the  same  ancient  style 
of   Jewish   masonry,    was  discovered    near    the    northwestern 

246 


JERUSALEM   AND    ITS   ENVIRONS 


24; 


corner  of  Jerusalem,  and  is  still  to  be  seen  in  the  basement 
of  the  Freres  College.  It  is  only  possible  to  believe  now  in 
the  genuineness  of  the  traditional  Calvary  on  the  violent 
assumption  of  a  re-entering  angle  barely  excluding  the  Holy 
Sepulcher.      Such    an   angle   in   the  wall,    if   it   existed,    must 


APPROACH  TO  THE  Hol.V  SKI'U  I.<  1 1  I .  K 


have  been  made  at  great  cost,  and  w  ithout  apparent  reason. 
The  conformation  of  the  land  and  all  surrounding  conditions 
favor  the  obvious  supposition  that  the  wall  on  this  site  con- 
tinued in  practically  the  same  direction  to  the  north  of  the 
temple  area,  curving  outward,  according  to  Josephus,  rather 
than  sharply  re-entering  inward.  Pilgrims  who  have  no 
general  interest  in  arclueological  questions  fiiid  tluniselves 
constrained  to  consider  this,  as  upon  it  ilepeiids  the  answer 
to  the  fpiestion  of   the  most  interesting  site  in  Jerusalem;    for 


-\' 


riiK  o\A)  woKi.i)  IN  nil.  m;\\   cKNiruv 


if  the  riuircli  of  till-  lloly  ScpulcluM-  la\-  inside  the  walls  as 
tlu'v  wcic  in  L'hiist's  tinu-,  tlic  loal  site  of  Cal\'ar\-.  and  of  the 
tomb  where  I'hrist  w.is  laitl,  lay  outside  the  wall  of  Jerusalem, 
it  was  mv  privileiie  to  <jo  almost  enliie]\-  aliout  the  soutii  wall 

.loo 


THE  ciukcii  of  thk  holy  skpulcher 


of  Jerusalem,  as  it  was  in  ancient  times,  under  the  guidance  of 
Professor  H.  G.  Mitchell  of  Boston  University,  and  now  of 
the  American  Institute  of  Archaeology ;  and  later  to  make  a 
similar  tour  of  the  north  walls  as  they  are,  and  as  they  are 
believed  to  have  been,  under  the  guidance  of  Hon.  Selah 
Merrill,  United  States  Consul,  who  perhaps  knows  better  than 
any  other  living  man  the  ground  itself,  and  the  value  of  its  evi- 
dence.    Without  entering  into  any  wearisome  account  of  the 


JERUSALEM   AND    ITS    ENVIRONS 


^49 


reasons  pro  or  con,  all  of  which  are  available  to  those  interested 
in  them,  I  express  my  own  conviction  that  Dr.  Robinson  and 
Dr.  Merrill  are  correct,  and  that  the  present  site  of  the  Holy 
Sepulcher  lies  well  within  the  walls  as  they  were  in  the  time 
of  Christ. 

The    Holy  Sepulcher,  it  will   be  remembered,  is  supposed 


INTI.KIOK    (iK    CIHKt   II    OK   TllK    lltll-V    SETL  l.ClUiK 


to  have  been  discovered  1)\-  i  lelena,  the  niiithir  ..f  tin-  l'.ini)t'r()r 
Constantine,  who  also  discovered  tlu-  true  cross,  with  two 
others,  in  a  cistern  near  by.  An  iiitelli!j[ent  I'.n^dish-speakin^!: 
Franciscan  monk,  who  took  inc  about  the  church,  assured  me 
that  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  claims  but  one  niirat-le  in 
connection  with  il.lena's  (juest  of  the  llol\-  Sepulcher. 
namely,  that  each  >>i  the  three  crosses  was  brou^dit  in  succes- 
sion into  the  presence  of  a  uouian  who  was  sick:  the  Inst  two 
made  her  violently  worse,  and  the  third  wroui,dU  a  cmc.  b\ 
which  token  the  finders  were  assured  which  were  the  crosses 
of   the  thieves   and  whidi    the  cross  of   Christ:   but  thi-^    is  liy 


.•50         riiK  011^  wuKi.i)  IN    iiii'.  m:w  ci'.Nrrm' 

iu>  nioans  the  on\y  miracle  curicnllx-  reported  concerning  the 
luulinLi'  of  the  Sepuleher  ami  the  place  of  the  cross.  Some 
of  these  aiklitional  miracles,  the  good  friar  told  me,  are  taught 
l)y  the  Greek  Church.  auA  others  are  more  or  less  believed  by 
both  bodies;  but  he  wished  me  to  remember  that  for  no  other 
does  the  Roman  Church  lioUl  herself  responsible. 

The  Church  oi  the  Holy  Sepuleher,  whose  erection  by 
C\->nstantine"s  mother  is  recorded  by  I-lusebius,  about  325 
A.  ]).,  stood  for  353  years,  until  Jerusalem  fell  into  the 
hands  of  Omar  and  liis  Moslems,  They  did  not  greatly  injure 
the  edifice,  but  about  969  the  order  for  its  destruction  was 
given  by  the  Caliph  Mae/..  In  loio  the  mad  Caliph  ITakem 
completed  its  destruction.  Its  rebuilding  was  begun  in  1040 
by  the  patriarch  Nicephorus.  In  1099  the  Crusaders  entered 
Jerusalem  and  enlarged  both  the  church  and  the  Sepuleher. 
In  iSoS  this  church  was  burned.  The  conflagration  was 
terrible,  and  for  five  hours  raged  within  this  spot,  the  then 
dearest  on  earth  to  Christian  hearts.  In  iSio  the  present 
church  was  completed,  at  a  cost  of  nearly  three  millions  of 
dollars,  one-third  of  which,  it  is  said,  was  paid  to  lawyers  and 
for  the  bribing  of  Turkish  officials.  Without  this  bribery  the 
building  could  hardlv  have  been  erected  at  all. 

Three  times  1  visited  the  Church  of  the  Sepuleher,  and 
always  found  it  thronged.  Once  I  passed  in  close  behind  the 
Greek  patriarch,  who  prostrated  himself  before  the  Stone  of 
Anointment,  while  the  soldiers  presented  arms,  and  the  hosts 
of  pilgrims  with  candles  rose  tier  on  tier  around  the  vestibule. 
Once  I  went  early  in  the  morning,  and  was  shown  about  by 
'the  monk  already  referred  to,  who,  with  the  Turkish  sergeant, 
devoted  to  me  considerable  time,  antl  was  in  every  way 
courteous.  I  saw  the  rent  rock  of  the  earthcpiake,  and  the 
precise  spot  where  each  of  the  crosses  stood,  and  all  the  other 
places  of  interest.  I  also  saw  the  center  of  the  earth,  and  the 
tomb  of  Adam,  and  certain  other  things  which  it  is  hard  to 
treat  seriously,  save  as  one  remembers  their  sacredness  in 
others'  sight.  He  has  no  right  to  visit  any  shrine  or  temple 
who  goes  devoid  of   sympathy  for   those  Vv'ho  worship   there, 


JERUSALEM   AND    ITS    ENVIRONS 


-51 


and  I  would  far  rather  be  the  most  ignorant  of  the  worshipers 
than  the  most  enh'ghtened  of  the  scoffers,  l^ut  the  juxtaposi- 
tion of  the  true  and  the  false,  the  sacred  and  the  commercial, 
the  refinement  of  form  and  the  absence  of  spirit,  jar  unpleas- 


I  III    iioi .^    m:i'Li.cui-:k 


antly  u[)f)n  one  in  this,  w  liicii,  spite  of  all,  is  still  a  sacred  place, 
however  void  of  truth  is  the  theory  that  gives  it  its  name. 

If  the  genuineness  of  the  traditional  site  of  the  lloly 
Sepulcher  be  given  up,  where  shall  we  locate  the  scene  of  the 
crucifixion?  The  place  which  increasingly  is  finding  favor 
among  scholars  and  visitors  to  Jerusalem  as  the  piohable  site 
of  (Olivary,  is  that  just  above  the  traditional  grotto  of  JeiX'- 
miah,  and    is  localh*  known  as   Ciordon's  ("al\ar\-.       It   is  most 


.'3-  iiii'  oi.D  \\(>i^:i  n  IN    riii-:  ni:\v  ci'.niury 

unfortunate  that  such  a  iianu-  is  L;i\cn  to  the  place.  (iciicral 
Gordon  visitcil  Jerusalem  ami  heeanie  L;reatl\-  impressed  with 
the  probable  genuineness  oi  this  site,  .nul  from  that  time  on 
until  his  death,  spoke  and  wrote  much  in  favor  of  it.  A 
local  photographer,  takini:^  adxantage  of  the  demand  for 
pictures,  labeled  his  ne,L;ati\e  "Gordon's  CaK'ary,"  and  so  the 
name   became  fixed.      It   is  not   uncommon   to  f^ive  the   name 


THE    NEW   CALVARY 
Photograph  by  Miss  Anna  M.  Matthews 

of  the  supposed  discoverer  to  the  site  which  he  has  found, 
but  it  is  peculiarly  unfortunate  that  any  man's  name  should 
be  attached  to  Calvary.  It  is  Christ's  Calvary,  or  it  is  no 
one's.      However,  by  Gordon's  name  it  is  locally  known. 

What  we  know  about  the  crucifixion  is,  that  Jesus  was 
crucified  outside  the  wall,  in  a  conspicuous  place,  near  the 
public  road,  and  in  close  proximity  to  a  garden  in  which  was 
a  rock-hewn  tomb.  The  place  at  that  time  was  called 
Golgotha,  the  place  of  a  skull,  though  whether  because  the 
round  hillock  was  shaped  like  a  skull,  or  because  the  skulls  of 
malefactors  were  sometimes  exposed  there,  we  do  not  know. 
The  name  has  long  since  disappeared,  and  affords  no  assist- 


JERUSALEM    AM)    ITS   ENVIRONS 


253 


ance;  however,  many  profess  to  see  in  the  new  Calvary  some 
resemblance  to  a  skull,  that  might  have  accounted  for  the 
original  name.  Quite  apart  from  this,  however,  the  place 
fulfils  all  the  essential  conditions.  Unquestionably  it  lay  out- 
side the  walls   in  Christ's  time,  as  it  does  to-day,  and  near  to 


I  111-     -^1II■.|■|1I•.K1»    ON    (AI.XARV 


St.  Stephen's  gate,  through  which  lie  probably  passed  on 
His  way  to  the  crucifi.xion.  Though  by  no  means  a  moun- 
tain, it  is  a  conspicuous  elevation,  adjacent  to  two  public 
highways,  in  plain  sight  of  the  walls,  and  a  place  of  gardens 
and  of  tombs.  Indeed,  there  now  lies  at  its  base  a  gartkn 
with  a  rock-hewn  tomb  which  so  strikingly  meets  all  the  con- 
ditions afforded  by  our  knowledge  of  the  circumstances  as  to 
supply  every  detail  requisite  to  the  theory  that  this  was  the 
veritable  Calvary,  and  here  the  garden  of  Joseph,  and  the 
tomb  in  which  Christ  law 


-'S-i  I'liK  oi.n  WDKi  n  IN    rill    m:\\   c"i:NrrRV 

This  is  the  spot  to  suit  not  only  one's  conviction,  but 
<>nc"s  sense  of  titness.  Ilere  is  a  pi. ice  that  nial<es  the  ciuci- 
hxion  real,  and  helps  one  to  umlerstand  the  c\ents  associated 
with  our  Lord's  passion.  The  same  cannot  be  said  of  the 
traditiiMial  site.  Tiierc  one  meets  with  jant^ling  sects,  each 
grudi^ini^  the  other  a  foothold,  on  a  spot  where  they  believe 
Christ  died.  There  one  sees  the  Turkish  !j;uard,  sometimes 
keeping  apart  by  force  of  arms  those  who  are  not  deterred 
hv  their  common  love  of  Christ  from  laying  violent  hands  on 
each  other.  There  one  finds  traffic,  and  greed,  and  beggary, 
until  he  could  wish  for  another  cleansing  of  the  temple  with 
a  whip  of  small  cords.  There  one  finds  superstition  and 
priestly  invention  forcing  their  way  in  where  the  reticence  of 
the  gospels  is  most  marked  and  most  beautiful.  In  the 
Church  of  the  Sepulcher  one  is  shown  the  stone  of  anoint- 
ment on  which  the  body  of  Jesus  was  said  to  have  lain  when 
Nicodemus  anointed  it;  the  place  wdiere  the  women  wit- 
nessed the  crucifixion;  the  place  where  the  crosses  stood;  the 
place  where  the  garments  were  divided ;  the  place  where  the 
cross  was  found;  the  place  where  Abraham's  faith  was  tried; 
the  grave  of  Adam ;  the  place  whence  came  the  earth  from 
which  Adam  was  created;  and  a  wearisome  lot  beside.  It  is 
a  veritable  museum  of  heterogeneous  religous  frauds.  There 
is  no  evidence  for  any  of  these  things;  it  is  all  tradition,  but 
tradition  industriously  taught  and  unquestionably  believed  by 
great  masses  of  pilgrims  whose  presence  swells  the  revenues 
of  the  various  ruling  sects. 

On  the  New  Calvary  all  this  is  changed.  There  is  no 
strife,  no  guard,  no  merchandise,  no  pious  fraud.  There  is  a 
cemetery  on  a  round  hill,  with  a  garden  at  the  base.  There 
one  may  feel,  as  well  as  be,  assured  of  the  truth.  We  held 
there  a  quiet  and  a  memorable  service,  that  none  of  us  can  for- 
get.     It  is  of  this  place,  and  not  of  the  church,  that  I  shall  think 

as  I  sing: 

There  is  a  green  liill  far  away, 

Without  a  city  wall, 
Where  the  dear  Lord  was  crucified, 
Who  died  to  save  us  all. 


JERUSALEM   AND    ITS   EWIRONS 


-.55 


Just  as  our  service  on  Calvary  closed,  a  shepherd  came  over 
the  hill  with  his  flock  of  sheep.  I  caught  ;in  imperfect  photo- 
graph of  him,  and  present  it,  taken  as  it  was  on  the  spot 
where  the  good  Shepherd  gave  his  life  for  the  sheep. 

Outside  the  city  remain  interesting  short  excursions.  One 
should   not  fail  to  go  entirely  around   the  walls  of  Jerusalem. 


Till.    MOIST    OK    OI.IVKS 
Photograph  by  Miss  Grace  A.  Ross 

Nehemiah  tried  to  do  this  on  a  donkey,  and  rode  as  far  as  he 
could  go  and  then  turned  back.  The  modern  tourist  can  ride 
farther  than  Nehemiah  could,  .uk!  for  the  rest  of  the  \\a\'  lie 
can  walk.  Along  the  south  wall  are  wheat-fields  and  half- 
cultivated  tracts.  I  saw  a  jackal  within  pistol  shot  of  Jerusa- 
lem. All  aroiiud  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat  and  ii|)  into  the 
valley  of  the  sons  of  llinnoni  are  graves  anil  graveyards 
innumerable.  It  has  been  the  anihition  ..f  nnllinns  of  people 
to  be  buried  at  Jerusalem,  and  it  would  seem  as  though  most 
of  these  had   achieved  their  desire,      '{'here  is  no   better  place 


25<'  rill"  *M.i>  WOULD  IN    1111.  m:\\   cI'Intiky 

to  bo  buried  aiul  forgotten  than  in  the  nniltitutle  of  graves 
that  are  here.  Still,  certain  of  the  cemeteries  are  well  cared 
for,  among  tliem  the  little  Protestant  cemetery  on  the  south 
sitle  of  the  city,  which  is  really  a  comparatively  attractive 
place.     Follow  ing  around  on  the  south,  one  comes  to  Siloam, 


AN    OLD    ol.l\  E-TKEK    IN    (iETHSKMANE 


and  may  somewhat  easily  make  his  way  up  the  valley  on  the 
east.  From  the  east  side  entirely  around  the  north  and  to 
the  JafTa  gate  on  the  west,  and  so  on  south  to  the  railroad 
station,  one  may  drive  with  a  carriage,  and  so  it  is  not  a  very 
difficult  task  to  make  the  entire  circuit  of  the  walls. 

Of  course  the  visitor  must  cross  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat 
to  Gethsemane.  Two  spots  are  claimed  as  the  real  site  of  the 
garden,  one  by  the  Greeks  and  the  other  by  the  Latins.  So 
far  as  I   could   judge,  there   is   no   reason  why  they  may   not 


JERUSALEM    AND    ITS   ENVIRONS 


■:)i 


both  be  genuine.  The  original  garden  must  have  been  con- 
siderably larger  than  both  of  these  together.  The  Latin 
Gethsemane  is  the  one  that  most  appeals  to  American  tour- 
ists. One  enters  it  by  a  small,  low  gate,  and  finds  within  it 
eieht  old  olive-trees.  The  situation  at  the  foot  of  Olivet  and 
just  off  the  road,  that  branching  leads  one  way  directly  over 
the  top  and  the  other  around  the  hill,  is  in  itself  most  con- 
vincing, and  appeals  to  one  with  a  strong  suggestion  of  genu- 


IJETIl.VNV 


ineness.  Inside,  tiie  venerable  trees,  which  may  be  eight 
hundred  or  a  thousand  years  old,  have  such  a  suggestion  of 
antiquity  that  one  is  satisfied  to  think  iIkhi,  if  u..t  the  originals, 
at  least  the  lineal  descendants  of  those  that  stood  there  in  the 
time  of  Christ.  So  far  forth  everything  is  as  one  should  wish 
it,  and  within  the  garden,  at  the  spot  where  Jesus  is  believed 
to  have  prayed,  is  Canova's  beautiful  marble  group  of  Christ 
strengthened  by  the  angel.  .All  this  is  as  it  should  be.  Hut 
besides  this,  there  are  a  number  of  cheap  and  tawdry  shrines, 
repulsively  inartistic,  marking  the  e.xact  s(iuare  foot  where 
each  incident  of  Christ's  agony  is  believed  to  have  occurred. 
I  cannot  tell  li<>w  indescribably  it  cheapens  the  narrative  thus 


JS^  rui'  oin  woKin  in    riii,  m:w  ii'.NrrRV 

to  nail  it  down  to  a  precise  s(|uare  yard  of  cartli,  and  to  illus- 
trate it  hv  a  crude  and  soulless  bas-relief,  the  work  of  a  super- 
stitious brain  and  unskilful  hands,  unenlightened  by  any  noble 
conception  of  the  subject. 

The  l-'ranciscan  monks  who  have  the  place  in  charge  may 
be  more  devoted  and  less  crafty  than  they  seem,  so  I  will  not 
bring  any  railing  accusation  against  them.  Mr.  William  K. 
Curtis,  who  visited  Jerusalem  just  before  I  was  there,  thus 
describes  the  traffic  in  the  olive  fruit  and  foliage  of  the  eight 
living  trees  in  the  garden  : 

These  trees  are  utilized  in  an  extraordinary  manner  foi'  tlie  purimsi-  of 
raisins;:  money.  Each  tree  is  tlieoretically  owned  by  a  stock  com])any,  un- 
limited. As  much  stock  is  issued  as  the  Christian  i)ublic  will  ahsorl),  and 
the  dividends,  wliicli  are  paid  in  tiie  form  of  little  fancy  vials  of  oil,  are  cer- 
tain. .A-lthough  these  trees  ceased  to  bear  fruit  generations  ago,  the  people 
in  charge  do  not  hesitate  to  give  assurance  to  the  contrary  to  the  share- 
holders, and  of  course  there  is  always  enough  olive  oil  to  be  had  in  Jerusalem 
to  pay  the  dividends.  Ground  sanctified  by  the  Saviour's  tears,  to  many 
minds  the  most  sacred  spot  on  earth,  is  profaned  by  tiiis  and  other  iiunibugs 
practiced  by  men  who  should  be  driven  from  that  holy  place,  as  Christ 
drove  the  traders  from  the  temjjle.  Sprigs  of  olive  and  jiressed  flowers 
gathered  upon  the  hills  around  Jerusalem  are  sold  by  the  car-load  to  confid- 
ing people  as  if  they  came  from  Gethsemane.  The  Roman  Catholic  garden 
is  very  small,  not  more  than  300  feet  long  by  200  feet  wide,  in  the  shape  of 
an  irregular  triangle.     The  Greek  garden  is  considerably  larger. 

There  are  many  humbugs  about  here.  The  guides  point  out  to  you  the 
"terra  damnata,"  the  exact  spot  where  Judas  kissed  the  Saviour,  and  the 
stone  upon  which  the  apostles  slept  when  they  should  have  been  watching. 
The  gospels  tell  us  that  three  of  them  were  in  the  party,  but  the  stone  is 
not  big  enough  for  more  than  two  very  small  men. 

Gethsemane  is  at  the  foot  of  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  a  good  roadway, 
kept  in  excellent  order  by  the  Russians,  leads  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  an  easy 
walk  of  half  an  hour.  Ipon  the  way  you  see  some  remarkable  things.  For 
example,  a  light  gray  rock  is  pointed  out  as  the  place  where  the  Madonna 
dropped  her  girdle  when  she  ascended  to  heaven;  a  little  farther  up  is  an- 
other rock  upon  which  Jesus  stood  when  he  beheld  tiie  city  and  wept  over 
it.  Here  is  the  stone  from  which  the  Holy  Virgin  mounted  the  ass  when 
starting  upon  her  journey  to  Egypt.  Here  is  the  place  where  Jesus  forgave 
Peter  all  his  sins.  A  place  where  Mary  once  met  her  Son,  when  she  was 
going  to  Bethany  and  he  was  on  his  way  to  Jerusalem,  is  marked  by  a 
cross,  and  cavities  in  several  rocks  on  the  hillside  are  shown  as  footprints 
of  saints.  The  barren  fig-tree  cursed  by  the  Saviour  is  still  growing  on  the 
TJethany  side  of  the  mountain,  and  in  that  little  town,  which  is  only  two 
miles  from  Gethsemane,  a   pleasant  walk  around  the  side  of  Mount  Olivet, 


JERUSALEM    AND    ITS   ENVIRONS 


-59 


are  shown  four  different  houses  in  which  Mary  and  Martha  lived  with  their 
brother  Lazarus. 

All  these  are  for  the  purpose  of  deceiving  the  pilgrims.  But  they  are 
not  the  worst.  Two  different  trees  are  pointed  out  as  the  actual  gibbets 
upon  which  Judas  hanged  himself,  in  proof  whereof  the  branches  grow 
toward  the  east,  pointing  away  from  the  Holy  Sepulcher,  and   the  guides 


THE    TOMH   i>I-     LAZAKUS 

will  tell  you  that  this  is  a  miracle.  Judas  trees  were  formerly  more  numer- 
ous than  now,  and  twenty-five  years  ago  they  were  at  an  entirely  diiferent 
locality.  Faith  in  the  longevity  of  trees  in  this  country  is  astonishing. 
Down  at  Jericho  they  show  you   the  tree  that   Zaccheus  climbed  to  see  the 

Saviour  pass  by. 

To  some  people  these  humbugs  are  so  manifest  as  to  be  amusing,  but 
they  deceive  90  per  cent  of  the  devout,  trusting  pilgrims  who  come  to  wor- 
shi[>  and  adore,  and  thus  a  great  wrong  is  done. 

Fortunately,  it  is  impossible  wholly  to  spoil  the  mountain  ; 
hence  the  Mount  of  <  )livcs  retains  sometiiing  of  its  sacred 
association.       Here  where   the   feet  of   Jesus  last   pressed    the 


2bo  Till'    Ol  1>    WOULD    IN     llll'.    NIAV    CKNllin 

soil  oi  cailh.  one  Iccls  a  thrill  of  salisf.iclion  in  findini^  some 
spots  of  seclusit^n  away  from  shiincs  and  cluiichcs  that  vainly 
seek  to  make  the  place  more  sacred,  and  towcis  whose  height 
seems  a  poor  attempt  to  follow  his  ascent  into  heaven.  There 
are  still  some  (piiet  places  where  one  can  feel  something  of 
that  which  makes  the  place  one  of  the  most  sacred  on  earth. 
From  here,  one  has  his  finest  view  of  Jerusalem,  and  cannot 
wonder  that  from  this  eminence  the  disciples  looked  upon  the 
city  with  admiration. 

Around  the  brow  of  the  hill  on  the  other  side  from  Jeru- 
salem is  the  little  village  of  Bethany.  It  is  an  uninteresting 
place  to-day,  but  one  visits  it  gladly,  for  this  was  the  home 
of  Jesus'  friends.  The  house  where  they  lived  is  pointed 
out,  of  course,  and  one  may  see  it  quickly,  and  be  glad  when 
that  part  of  it  is  over.  It  is  simply  another  tradition,  and 
nowhere  are  traditions  more  cheap.  But  more  interesting  is 
the  alleged  tomb  of  Lazarus,  a  deep  cave  approached  by  a 
dark  stairway,  and  so  constructed  as  to  give  shape  to  one's 
thought  of  the  greatest  miracle  of  Christ's  lifetime. 

All  the  way  from  Ik^thany  to  Jerusalem  the  tourist  is  be- 
sieged by  beggars,  and  the  slope  up  which  he  ascends  to  the  city 
is  occupied  by  lepers,  who  run  along  beside  the  carriage  and 
thrust  their  diseased  hands  into  his  face,  demanding  bakshish. 
Their  cry,  "Lipra!  lipral"  is  pathetic,  querulous,  insistent.  It 
is  hard  to  pity  them,  so  repulsive  are  they,  so  needless  is  their 
beggary,  and  so  repellant  is  their  method  of  extorting  black- 
mail, (^ne  has  constant  need  to  remind  himself  that  Jesus  had 
compassion  on  the  lepers.  There  is  no  greater  proof  of  his 
tenderness  than  his  attitude  toward  these  wretched  outcasts. 
Jerusalem  is  a  favorite  place  for  philanthropy.  There  are 
at  least  two  homes  for  lepers,  and  none  of  these  people  need 
beg;  but  they  are  fond  of  begging,  and  exercise  their  privi- 
lege outside  the  walls.  Within  the  gates  they  may  not  come. 
I  was  glad  to  see  the  homes  for  them,  even  if  the  lepers  refuse 
to  occupy  them.  In  time  a  better  condition  of  government 
will  compel  them  to  remain  in  quarantine.  So  only  can  the 
disease  be  eradicated. 


JERUSALEM   AND    ITS    ENVIRONS 


261 


Another  sight  gladdened  me — the  British  Ophthahnic 
Hospital.  I  tried  to  learn  more  about  its  work,  but  learned 
little,  and  had  not  time  to  visit  the  institution.  Such  a  hos- 
pital, well  endowed,  can  do  a  great  work  in  that  land  of 
limestone  dust  and  unwashed  eyes.  Diseases  of  the  sight  are 
fearfully  frequent.  There  could  be  no  finer  Christian  charity 
than  the  giving  of  sight  in  His  name  in  Jerusalem. 


JERUSALEM    BEGGARS 
Photograph  by  Mrs.  F.  B.  Newell 

Much  money  has  been  expended  in  Jcrus.dem  in  the  n.mic 
of  religion,  and  much  will  continue  to  be  expended.  T" 
Jews,  Greeks  and  Latins,  money  is  sent  for  distribution  to 
"the  poor  saints  in  Jerusalem,"  some  of  whom  have  as  ni.m> 
forms  of  religion  as  there  are  available  distributions  of  .dins. 
The  largest  Protestant  work,  and  an  excellent  work,  iloiu-  in 
the  city  is  by  the  I':piscoi)alians  of  England,  tluou-h  the 
Church  Missionary  Society.  There  is  a  House  ot  Industry. 
maintained  by  llu:  London  Jews'  Society,  where  boys  are 
taught  trades,  and  the  products  are  sold  as  souvenirs.  So 
far  as  I  could  learn,  there  is  no  (.verlapping  of  I'rotestant  work 
in    Palestine,  or   strife   among   any   organized    dcnoniiiiat  ional 


2U2  1111.  oi.n  WOULD  IN    iiu:  NKW  ci:nii'rv 

.I'^oncics.  'riiorc  arc  nuincrous  iiulcpi'iidciU  ai^encies,  some 
of  tlicni  worl<inL;  \\  ith  admii  abU-  rinist  ian  spirit,  aiul  olhcis 
sliowiiii;"  more  zeal  than  uisdoni. 

1  drove  anMind  Olivet  on  the  way  to  jerieho,  leavins^"  Jeru- 
salem ill  i|uite  a  heavy  rain,  which,  however,  did  not  extend 
far  over  the  reL^ion  w  hich  separates  Jerusalem  from  the  Jordan 
valley.  Thus  we  were  soon  in  the  mitlst  of  sunshine,  thouL,di 
passing;  down  througli  a  constant!}-  diminishini;-  shower  that 
still  was  a  heavy  rain  over  all  the  region  toward  the  west. 
The  road  down  the  slope  of  Olivet  winds  back  and  forth  so 
that  one  can  hxik  out  and  see  it  many  times  below  him,  and 
ever  as  we  drove  down  this  slope  the  rainbow  above  us  grew 
brighter  and  brighter.  Soon  a  second  bow  appeared,  and 
then  a  third,  and  at  last  a  faint  but  unmistakable  suggestion 
of  the  fourth.  It  was  a  triple,  and  almost  a  quadruple,  rain- 
bow; nowhere  before  have  I  ever  seen  one  like  it,  and  I  doubt 
if  such  a  one  is  often  seen  by  any  one.  There  was  something 
beautiful  in  its  suggestion.  Out  from  the  gloom  of  a  dark 
and  muddy  morning  we  were  emerging  into  the  beauty  of  the 
sunshine  ami  the  splendor  of  its  rainbow.  It  seemed  a  sort 
of  halo  over  the  city  now  so  squalid  and  desolate,  but  once 
so  glorious  in  its  associations,  and  so  teeming  with  memories 
that  have  proved  a  blessing  to  the  human  race.  There  was 
something  cheering  in  the  symbol;  something  that  made  it 
impossible  to  think  of  Jerusalem  as  if  it  were  only  the  squalid 
Syrian  town  which  one  sees  when  in  the  midst  of  it.  As  we 
went  down  into  the  valley,  the  intervening  hills  shut  out  the 
sight,  and  the  storm  and  rainbow  grew  more  remote.  Our  last 
sight  of  the  triple  arch  disclosed  it  gloriously  encircling  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  where  Jesus  ascended  to  the  Father,  and 
setting  its  sacred  promise  of  hope  upon  that  spot  of  land  which 
Jesus  loved. 


CHAPTER    X\ll 
JERICHO,   JORDAN.    AND    THK    RKD    SEA 

"A  certain  man  went  doi<.')i  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho." 
Incidental  expressions  such  as  this  reveal  their  full  force  and 
fidelity  to  the  student  of  the  Bible  only  when  he  is  on  the 
eround.  He  who  follows  the  same  road  realizes  how  much 
emphasis  should  be  placed  on  the  word  dozen.  Jerusalem, 
measured  from  the  elevation  at  the  northwest  angle  of  the 
present  city  wall,  is  2,589  feet  above  the  level  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea.  The  Dead  Sea  is  1,300  feet  below  sea  level,  a 
fall  of  nearly  4,000  feet  in  what  would  be  eighteen  miles  if 
traveled  in  a  straight  line.  It  is  a  drive  of  six  hours,  and  the 
descent  is  constant,  and  in  some  places  precipitous.  When 
one  turns  to  go  back  again,  he  realizes  once  more  how  con- 
tinuous is  the  climb,  and  there  comes  to  his  mind  the  pathetic 
picture — pathetic,  but  full  of  elements  that  call  forth  admira- 
tion— of  Christ's  last  journey  to  Jerusalem  before  his  crucifix- 
ion. "Me  went  before,  ascending  up  to  Jerusalem" — this  is 
the  record.  lie  had  told  the  disciples  of  his  coming  crucifix- 
ion, and  the}'  had  said  in  tlie  language  of  Thomas,  wliom  we 
cruelly  remember  as  the  doubter,  "Let  us  also  go,  tiiat  we 
mav  die  with  liini."  The}-  summoned  their  faith  to  this  level 
of  devotion,  but  he  went  up  before  them.  All  the  way  he 
led  the  .sad  little  procession,  not  because  his  bodily  strength 
was  greater,  but  because  his  courage  was  more  stable  and 
his  faith  more  serene. 

The  road  to  Jericho  leads  through  Hethan>-  around  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  and  past  the  single  spring  known  as  the 
Apostle's  Spring,  from  the  tradition,  or  ratlu-r  {\■^m^  the  con- 
jecture, based  on  the  practical  necessities  of  the  c.ise.  that  t  he 
apostles  must  have  rested  here.  The  springs  of  T.ilestine  are 
its  most    certainly  authentic   spots.      If   this  ^jjiing  existed  in 


2()., 


■i-iii    oi.n  WOULD  IN    iiii:  m:\\   ci'.nhkv 


tlio  time  of  (."hrist,  it  is  perfectly  safe  to  assume  tliat  tlie 
apostles  aiul  ("hrist  liiiusi-lf  made  use  of  it,  ami  drank  of  its 
waters. 

Midway  between  Jerusalem  and  Jericho  is  the  inn  of  the 
Good  Samaritan.  it  stands  in  the  midst  of  a  desolate  region, 
occupying  the  site  of  a  much  more  ancient  structure,  and  the 
name  is  entirely  fitting.  The  horses  rest  here  for  from  ten  to 
thirty  minutes,  making  the  longer  wait  on  the  return  trip,  and 


THK    KOAU    FROM    JERUSALEM    TO   JERICHO 
Photograph  by  Mrs.  F.  B.  Newell 


JERICHO,  JORDAN,  AND  THE    RED   SEA 


26: 


here  the  tourists  have  abundant  opportunity  to  procure  reHcs 
of  various  sorts.  There  are  knives  and  swords  and  ancient 
blunderbusses  that  have  doubtless  been  used  by  thieves 
along  this  same  road,  for  the  highway  still  retains  its  old 
reputation. 

Still  descending,  one  passes  along  the  edge  of  the  deep 
ravine  known  as  the  Brook  Cherith,  where  Elijah  fled  after 
discovering  that  a  famine  was  to  occur,  and  remained  in  hiding 


THE    INN    OF   THE   GOOD   SAMARITAN 


until  the  brook  dried  up.  ( )ii  the  opposite  side  of  the  caHon 
are  several  monasteries,  the  homes  of  lurmits,  llie  most 
remarkable  of  which  is  Wad}'  el-Kelt,  which  was  l)uilt  in 
535,  and  is  said  to  be  a  kind  of  penitentiary  for  (irrek  piiosts. 
It  is  a  lonely  place,  and  if  any  priest  has  sinneti  so  as  to  tall 
under  the  just  wrath  of  his  brethren,  it  is  hard  to  iinagiiu-  a 
more  desolate  spot  in  uhicii  he  could  do  i)enan(.  r  for  his  fault. 
We  have  been  passing  through  the  wiKKrutss  of  Judci. 
If  uc  have  supposed  that  anything  seen  in  ralcsiinc^  before 
might  properly  be  called  a  wilderness,  uc  n<iu  (h'scover  our 
mistake.  We  have  seen  nothing  desolate  enough  to  belong 
in    the  same   class  with    this.      A  more   waste,  (hcaiA-,  forlorn 


::oo         -niK  o\\)  w  OR  1.1)  IN    rill':  ni:\\"  ei'.Nirm' 

hit  of  l.uuiscapo  can  lu-itlicr  be  foiiiul  nor  iinat^incd.  Unlike 
Sahara,  which  strctclics  on  in  inlcrniinahK-  wastes  of  sand, 
this  is  broken  into  b<ire  hills,  and  silent,  uninhabited  \alleys 
which  extend  be\'iMul,  antl  still  be\-ond,  as  far  as  the  eye  can 
reach.  If  an\-  one  iniai^ines  a  wilderness  as  a  forest  or  jungle, 
this  is  of  another  sort,  being  none  other  than  a  place  of  abso- 
lute sterility,  w  hose  every  scraj)  of  arable  soil  has  long  since 
been  washed  away  by  the  heavy  rains,  ami  whose  barren  sub- 
soil is  baked  and  parched  b\-  the  sun.  What  little  suggestion 
of  vegetation  one  discovers  i)artakcs  of  the  same  tawny  hue 
of  the  rocks  and  earth. 

At  length  we  emerge  into  the  Jordan  valley,  and  here  all 
is  changed.  A  large  and  sterile  plain  next  to  the  uplands 
gives  w^av  to  luxuriant  vegetation  near  the  river.  Wherever 
there  is  water,  there  is  life.  Palms,  bananas,  oranges,  and 
other  tropical  and  sub-tropical  fruits  are  found.  Cotton 
flourishes,  though  it  is  seldom  planted,  and  Indian  corn 
vields  two  crops  a  year.  Sugar-cane  here  grows  to  enormous 
height — indeed,  it  was  here  that  sugar  got  its  name. 

We  drove  to  the  great  spring  known  as  the  Fountain  of 
F^lisha,  from  the  tradition  that  the  ])rophet  sweetened  these 
waters  by  a  miracle.  We  passed  Arab  camps  in  their  low, 
flat  tents  made  of  dark  brown  goat's  hair.  Children  almost 
naked,  and  \\  ith  faces  already  vicious,  ran  after  us.  Nowhere 
did  we  see  such  sure  indications  of  latent  vice  in  the  faces  of 
children  as  appeared  in  the  region  about  Jericho.  The  men 
have  the  reputation  of  being  treacherous  and  malicious,  and 
the  women  are  said  to  average  about  as  their  lineal  ancestors 
did  in  Sodom. 

We  found  reasonably  coinfortable  quarters  at  the  Hotel 
Gilgal,  though  our  party  more  than  filled  all  the  respectable 
caravansaries  in  and  about  Jericho.  But  first-class  hotels  in 
Palestine  are  far  from  being  up  to  the  American  standard. 
(])ne  of  the  ladies  of  the  party  described  her  own  experience 
thus:  "A  certain  v/oman  went  down  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho, 
and  fell  among  fleas." 

After  a  meal  which   left  us  still  capable,  but    not  desirous. 


JERICHO,  JORDAN.  AND   THE    RED   SEA 


267 


we  drove  across  the  desolate  sand  to  the  Dead  Sea.  It  was 
a  longer  drive  than  I  had  anticipated,  and  there  was  plenty 
of   dust,   which   covered   us   over   and   filled   our   nostrils   and 


Till-:  iiKDiiK  (  III  Kirii 

Photograph  by  Mrs.  F.  B.  Newell 

throat.  The  heat  was  oppressive,  but  was  happily  relieveil 
by  a  strong  wind  blowin-  up  tin;  valley.  The  Dead  Sea  did 
not  seem  so  very  dead  when  we  were  there,  for  it  was  rolling 
in  heavv  waves,  which,  spite  of  the  weight  ..f  the  water,  came 
in  an.l  broke  into  foam  and  spray  against  the  pebbles  on  the 
shore.      We  tasted    the  water,  and    found  it  not    -.nly  salt   but 


26S 


1111    Di.n  woKi  D  IN    riii'  Ni:\v  CKX'n'RV 


bitter.  Six  ami  a  half  million  Ions  of  water  tlow  into  the 
\)cA<.\  >^CA  dailv.  As  the  sea  lias  no  outlet,  all  this  water 
evaporates,  and  leaves  what  remains  behind  exceedingly  heavy 
in  mineral  substances.  It  contains  from  twenty-four  to 
twent>--six  per  cent  of  solid  matter,  of  which  seven  per  cent 
is  salt.  It  has  an  (mIv  feeling,  and  those  who  bathed  in  the 
water   differ  in    their  account    of   its   efTect    upon    them,  some 


SITE   OF   JERICHO 

saying  that  they  felt  sticky  from  the  salt,  and  others  that  the 
skin  felt  soft  and  pleasant  from  the  oiliness. 

There  are  no  living  creatures  in  the  Dead  Sea,  and  very 
few  birds  about  the  shores;  this  is  not,  however,  because  of 
anything  fatal  in  the  atmosphere,  as  has  sometimes  been 
assumed,  but  because  no  fresh  water  is  available. 

Re-entering  our  carriages,  we  drove  northward,  and 
stopped  again  at  the  ford  of  the  Jordan.  The  Jordan  is  the 
one  river  of  I'alestine,  and  is  unlike  all  other  rivers.  Its 
course  is  entirely  below  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  its  gorge  is 
so  hot  and  unhealthy  that  no  villages  exist  along  its  banks 
save  only  near  its  mouth.  It  is  so  rapid  and  narrow  as  to  be 
wholly  unused  for  commercial  purposes.      Instead,  therefore, 


JERICHO,  JORDAN",  AND   THE    RED   SEA 


269 


of  uniting  the  regions  through  which  it  passes,  it  makes  an 
almost  impassable  barrier  between  Palestine  proper  and  the 
regions  on  the  other  side  of  the  Jordan.  A  stream  so  insig- 
nificant in  its  breadth,  could  hardly  have  become  important 
enough  to  deserve  mention  in  literature  save  by  reason  of  its 
rapidity  and  depth.  Its  fall  from  the  Lake  of  Tiberias  to  the 
Dead    Sea  is  six  hundred  and   ten  feet  in   a  distance  of  about 


THE    FOUNTAIN    OF    liLlMIA 

>,ixty  miles  in  a  straight  line,  l)ut  increased  by  man_\-  windings 
of  the  stream  to  nearly  two  hundred  miles.  Its  banks  are 
covered  with  a  thick  vegetable  growth  which  is  known  .is 
Pride,  or  Swelling  of  Jordan.  The  inhabitants  and  travelers 
being  very  few,  the  wild  beasts  here  have  things  almost  their 
own  way. 

It  is  not  without  reason  that  tradition  has  located  tin- 
scene  of  John's  baptizing  at  the  ford  of  ihr  Jordan,  for  although 
we  have  no  knowledge  of  the  site  of  Hcthahara.  this  spot  has 
been  that  which  pilgrims  have  sought  from  vrr\-  remote  ages. 
I'rom  the  time  of  Constantine,  it  has  been  esteemed  a  high 
privilege  to  be  bapti/.ed  in  Jordan.  Multitudes  of  (ireek 
l)ilgrims  come  here  annually  at   Master,  arrayed  in  white  robes. 


270 


II 1 1-:    01  I)    WOKI  1)    1\     rill-.    NKW    CI'.N'ri'KY 


and  at  miclniL^iit  baptize  thcniscUcs  in  tliis  water.  Tlie  stream 
is  very  rapiil,  ami  l;ii-m1  eare  is  needed  if  one  enters  it.  It  is 
also  \ery  nuldd^^  and  water  taken  from  the  river  cjuickly 
ferments  nnless  it  is  boiled  and  clarified.  A  single  row-boat 
i-^  maintained  at  the  ford,  ami  its  owner  gives  tourists  a  brief 
ride  on  the  lordan  for  about  a  franc.  It  is  well  not  to  pay 
him  until    he  returns  to  shore,  especiall\-  when    trade  is  brisk. 


THE    IJEAD    SE.A 


as  he  has  a  habit  of  cutting  rides  short  if  he  can  get  more 
fares  by  so  doing. 

Greek  priests  from  the  monasteries  above  come  down  to 
the  ford  and  sell  to  pilgrims  pebbles  from  the  Jordan  with 
cheap  little  transfer  pictures  of  the  baptism  of  Christ  upon 
them.  Various  small  articles  manufactured  from  black  Dead 
Sea  stone  are  sold  here,  as  well  as  rosaries  and  crucifixes. 

We  were  tired  and  hot  and  dusty  enough  when  we  returned 
to  the  hotel.  There  was  some  speculation  among  members 
of  the  party  as  to  the  character  of  the  meat  that  we  had  for 
dinner,  some  affirming  that  it  was  camel,  and  others  goat,  but 
it  was  probably  mutton.  After  dinner  Joseph  the  dragoman 
took  down  from  the  wall  a  hyena  skin,  and  told  us  about  the 
hyena,  which  we  were  sure  to  hear  howling  at  night.  A 
traveler  on  a  lonely  road  will   hear  its  cry,  and   then   feel   the 


271 


JERICHO,  JORDAN,  AND   THE    RED   SEA  27 

hyena  brush  his  face  as  it  leaps  over  his  shoulder.  This  per- 
formance is  repeated  until  the  traveler  stops  in  terror  and 
bewilderment  to  find  himself  confronted  by  the  creature's  two 
eyes,  shining  out  of  the  dark.      Rooted  to  the  spot,  he  gazes 


Till-.    I<I\I:K     |i>KI)AN.    1)K.    JdsIAII     SIKllNC     IN    Till-.     !•■(  )KI".(;  KOUN  I) 

at  these  fearful  eyes  in  horror-stricken  fascination,  and  at 
length  follows  them,  as  the  hyena,  receding,  lures  him  to  its 
cave.  Joseph  warned  us  not  to  hnik  too  long  evtii  at  the 
eyeless  head  of  the  dead  skin  lest  we  should  feel  sometiiing 
of  this  fatal  charm.  Now  and  then  a  man  is  rescued  who  has 
been  charmed  by  tiie  hyena,  and  it  is  necessary  to  h«)l<l  him 
flat  niton  tin:  ground  by  main  strength  and  beat  his  forehead 
with  a  stone  until    h<-  is  unconscious;   then  when    lu'  comes  to 


-'7-'         riii;  oi.n  woKi.n  in   iiii:  \k\v  century 

himself  there  is  i-e.is(Mial)le  liope  th.it  the  ereature's  spell  o\'er 
him  will  be  broken.  l'.\en  then  he  must  be  watched  when 
the  hyena  howls,  lest  he  break  away  from  his  eompanions,  and 
rush  forth  to  meet  the  t;larc  of  those  fatal  eyes.  The  animal 
kills  its  victims  when  it  gets  ready,  but  is  deliberate  about  it, 


A    SHEIK   OF   JERICHO 
Photograph  by  Miss  Anna  M.  Matthews 


and  enjoys  exercising  its  singular  power  over  men  quite  as 
much  as  it  does  the  sucking  of  their  blood. 

We  took  this  story  of  Joseph's  with  a  grain  of  salt,  but 
those  ladies  of  the  party  who  were  quartered  in  detached  cot- 
tages in  the  neighborhood  were  very  willing  to  accept  an  escort 
as  they  went  to  them  that  evening.  None  of  them  met  a 
hyena,  however,  so  far  as  was  reported. 

Next  morning  we  rose  at  five  o'clock  in  order  to  make  our 
journey  to  Jerusalem  before  the  sun  got  hot.  It  is  a  long, 
hard  climb,  and  the  three  horses  on  a  carriage  were  none  too 
many.  To  the  right  as  we  ascended  rose  Mount  Quarantana, 
the  reputed  scene  of  Christ's  temptation.      Behind,  and  to  the 


JERICHO,  JORDAN,  AND   THE    RED   SEA 


-73 


left,  were  the  hills  of  Moab,  where  stood  the  castle  of  Macha;- 
rus,  in  which  John  suffered  martyrdom.  In  the  distance  rose 
the  mountain  where  Moses  is  said  to  have  viewed  the  Prom- 
ised Land,  and  where  he  died.  It  is  a  longer  journey  back  to 
Jerusalem  than  is  required  for  the  descent,  and  there  is  little 
to  see  along  the  way;  yet  the  time  did  not  seem  long,  and 
there  still  remained  a  goodly  portion  of  the  day  to  be  employed 
in  the  streets  and  bazaars  of  Jerusalem. 


A    CKiiII'    <)I"    VII.I.A(il-:    SllKIKS 


CHAPTER  XVI II 
Bi:rnLi:iiEM,  where  angels  sang 

Hethlchcin  is  easily  reached  by  carriai^c  from  Jerusalem, 
The  way  leads  over  a  good  road,  and  takes  one  through  a  fruit- 
ful region,  much  more  interesting  than  that  in  which  Jerusa- 
lem is  situated.  The  village  stands  on  an  elevation,  and  is 
conspicuous  and  inviting.  The  population  is  variously  esti- 
mated, but  is  probably  about  eight  thousand,  and  the  inhabi- 
tants are  nearly  all  Christians.  Their  principal  industry  is  the 
carving  of  mother-of-pearl.  The  costume  of  the  people  is 
modest  and  picturesque.  The  women  are  more  attractive 
than  anywhere  in  Palestine,  excepting  at  Nazareth.  The\- 
have  pleasant  faces,  erect  carriage,  full  chests,  and  well- 
rounded  forms. 

The  first  notable  event  connected  with  Hethlchem  recorded 
in  the  l^ible  is  the  burial  of  Rachel,  and  her  tomb  is  still 
shown  by  the  roadside.  Jew^  and  Mohammedan  and  Christian 
alike  regard  this  place  with  reverence. 

Bethlehem  is  the  scene,  also,  of  the  beautiful  love-story 
of  Ruth,  all  the  more  lovely  because  of  its  dark  background. 
The  life  of  l^alestine  in  the  time  of  the  judges,  when  anarchy 
ruled,  would  stand  unrelieved  by  any  element  of  cheer,  but 
for  the  incidental  revelation  of  a  courage  like  Gideon's  and  of 
a  fidelity  like  Ruth's.  It  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  the 
level  field  a  mile  to  the  south  of  the  village  is  that  which  was 
owned  by  Boaz,  according  to  the  current  tradition.  One  does 
not  need  to  care  whether  this  was  the  identical  field  or  not;  it 
was  near  this  sj^ot  that  the  incident  occurred,  and  this  field 
meets  the  essential  conditions. 

Bethlehem  is  still  more  noted  as  the  home  of  Judah's.  one 
great  dynasty.  The  northern  kingdom  had  kings  of  many 
families,  but   the  southern    ])rovince,  after   the   time   of   Saul, 

^74 


BKTIILKHE.M,  WHERE    ANGELS   SANG 


-/D 


had  only  David  and  his  descendants  on  its  throne  down  to  the 
time  of  the  exile.  Near  Bethlehem  is  shown  an  old  well,  said 
to  be  Jesse's  well.  It  was  this  well,  if  the  tradition  can  be 
believed,  for  whose  water  David  yearned  when  he  was  fighting 
the  Philistines,  (i  Chronicles  xi.  17-19.)  So  great  was 
David's  popularity  among  his  men,  that  three  of  them  made 
their  way  through  the  Philistine  lines  to  bring  him  water  from 


"  0    I.ITTLE   TOWN    OF   BKTHLEHK.M 

the  well  where  he  had   been  wont  to  drink  in  chiUlhood.      No 

mean  nature  can   command  such  devotion  as  this,  and  no  one 

hut    a   L^reat    soul    could    receive    such    an    act   as    David    did. 

Instead  of  drinking  the  water,  he  poured  it  out  unt<>  the  I  mi.!. 

saying : 

My  God  fi.rhid  itine.thal  1  sliouki  (li>  lliis  lliiiig:  shall  I  drink  tlic  l)l>>od 
of  these  riicii  that  liavc  put  their  lives  in  jeopardy?  for  with  the  jeopardy  of 
their  lives  tiiey  Ijron^ht  it  (i  Chroii.  11:  19). 

It  is  such  acts  as  these  that  show  the  man's  true  greatness, 
and  reveal  to  us  David  as  he  actually  was — impulsive,  fallible, 
but  warm-hearted,  generous,  brave  and  high-minded. 

Near  Bethlehem  also  is  shown  a  cave  where  Mary  is  sup- 
posed   to  have   stopi)ed    and    nursed    the  infant   Child.      Il<re 


276         -nil-.  1)1, n  woKi.i)  IN   rill':  \i:\v  century 

rclii^ious  sui)cistitiiMi  reaches  its  very  bt)ttoni;  for  \vc  are  told 
ill  all  seriousness  that  some  drops  of  the  Virgin's  milk  fell 
upon  the  floor  of  the  cave,  and  have  given  such  virtue  to  the 
chalk}-  rock  that  little  tablets  cut  from  it  enable  women  to 
bear  male  children,  and  give  them  abundance  of  milk.  This 
boon,  much  desired  b\'  mothers  in  the  Orient,  makes  the  sale 
of  bits  of  rock  a  prolific  source  of  revenue  to  the  pious  rascals 
who  possess  the  cave. 

But  the  center  of  interest  at  Bethlehem  is  the  Church  of 
the  Nativity,  which  is  probably  the  oldest  Christian  church 
edifice  in  existence.  The  tradition  locating  it  is  much  more 
ancient  and  reliable  than  that  relating  to  most  sacred  spots  in 
Palestine.  The  tradition  extends  as  far  back  as  the  second 
century,  and  comes  to  us  from  Justin  Martyr.  Such  a  tradi- 
tion, maintained  through  so  many  centuries,  deserves  to  be 
treated  with  great  respect.  A  church  was  erected  here  in  330, 
by  order  of  the  Emperor  Constantine,  and  portions  of  this 
very  church  are  believed  still  to  exist  in  the  present  Church 
of  the  Nativity.  Here  on  Christmas  day,  in  the  year  IJOI, 
Baldwin  was  crowned  king.  While  the  church  has  several 
times  been  restored  and  undergone  extensive  repairs,  it  is  still 
the  most  ancient  and  inspiring  specimen  of  Christian  archi- 
tecture. 

The  church  is  in  the  joint  possession  of  the  Greeks, 
Roman  Catholics  and  Armenians.  The  Greeks  have  the 
lion's  share,  and  here,  as  in  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher, 
a  Turkish  guard  is  stationed,  ostensibly  to  prevent  the  vari- 
ous Christian  sects  from  fighting.  This  seems  passing  strange 
to  a  Christian  from  America,  and  the  questions  about  which 
the  tumults  arise  seem  utterly  insignificant — such  as  whether 
the  Armenians  may  extend  their  carpet  across  an  aisle  which 
must  be  used  by  the  Latins,  and  whether  in  coming  from  the 
chapel  of  the  Nativity  they  may  pass  out  on  the  other  side, 
or  must  return  by  the  way  they  have  entered.  But  according 
to  Oriental  custom  the  continuous  use  of  a  passageway  with- 
out protest  gives  property  rights,  so  the  Greeks  insist  upon 
retaining  whatever  might   be   compromised   by  concession   on 


BETHLEHEM,  WHERE   ANGELS   SANG 


277 


their  part.  Harvard  College  fences  up  the  walks  across  its 
campus  one  day  in  twenty  years,  in  order  that  it  may  in  no 
way  imperil  its  ownership  of  thoroughfares  commonly  open 
to  the  public.  In  the  Orient  it  is  much  more  necessary  to 
guard  such  rights  against  the  encroachment  of  those  to  whom 
ordinary  use  is  conceded ;  therefore  the  Latins,  perhaps  once 
in  a  year,  must  be  forbidden  to  march  entirely  through  the 
cavern   and  out   on  the   other  side,  and   be  compelled   to  turn 


i-f 


KA  CI  11:1.  S    TO  MI  I 


back  through  their  own  door.  The  Koni.iii  I'.ilhojics  com- 
I^lain  bitterly  against  the  Greeks  in  all  these  matters.  .um\  arc 
themselves  just  as  tyrannical  against  tin-  Ainu  ni.iiis.  Vhv 
iArmeiiiaii  quarters  are  themselves  so  poor  and  l)arc,  and  tlic 
carpet  before  their  altar  is  so  meagei',  that  it  seems  a  ])ity 
they  are  not  allowed  to  e.xtend  it  over  the  aisK-;  but  to  per- 
mit them  to  carpet  the  aisle  would  give  them  a  propert)"  right 
there,  or  might  be  held  so  to  do;  therefore  the  carpet  must 
be  watched  jealously  lest  it  e.\tend  a  single  inch  bexond  its 
boundarw 

It  is  so  at  the  Church  of  tlir  lloly  .ScpulcJH  r  in  JerusaUin, 
where  I  was  piloted  about  b\"  a  I-rancisran  monU  and  a  Turk- 


j;-"^  nil.  OLD  woKlJ)  IN    1111.   M.w   ei-.NTim- 

ish  scri^cant.  The  scrgcant'.s  presence,  muler  the  theory  tliat 
1  was  heini;'  iM-otectetl.  was  really  a  o-ood-iiaturetl  imposition, 
coupleil  with  the  expectation  of  bakshish.  J^ut  I  learned 
from  the  two  a  good  ileal  alxnit  the  riots  that  have  occurred 
in  the  church.  The  last  one  occurred  o\-er  the  ([uestion  of 
the  ri^ht  of  the  Latins  to  sweep  the  steps  just  outside  the 
door;  the  court  heini;-  the  property  of  the  Greeks,  the  privi- 
lege of  sweeping  the  steji  belongs  to  them.  They  neither 
sweep  it  often  themselves  nor  permit  an\-  one  else  to  do  so. 
It  would  be  an  insult  to  the  Greeks  for  the  Latins  to  sweep 
an\-  dust  from  above  upon  the  step  and  leave  it  there,  but  it 
is  usurpation  to  sweep  the  step. 

So,  once  in  a  while,  when  the  various  sects  have  great 
throngs  of  pilgrims  present,  ami  the  authorities  of  each  are 
measuring  their  rights  and  their  interests  to  the  very  hair's- 
breadth,  some  over-zealous  devotee  exceeds  his  privileges, 
and  the  act  is  resented  as  the  act  of  his  entire  sect,  and  then 
there  is  a  fieht.  Both  of  these  churches  have  been  the  scenes 
of  actual  violence  and  of  bloodshed  between  those  who  hold 
the  shrines  in  the  name  of  Christ. 

It  is  not  quite  correct  to  say,  however,  as  some  tourists  do, 
that  the  guards  are  constantly  necessary  to  prevent  these  Chris- 
tians from  killing  each  other,  and  that  the  soldiers  hold  their 
positions  in  manifest  scorn  of  the  Christians.  On  all  ordinary 
occasions  the  office  of  guard  is  a  sinecure,  and  the  soldiers 
have  little  more  to  do  than  to  present  arms  when  some 
church  dignitary  enters.  Judging  from  the  relations  of  my 
Franciscan  friar  and  the  sergeant,  they  live  on  very  good 
terms  with  each  other  as  a  rule.  The  guards  have  abundant 
time  to  prepare  their  coffee  and  smoke  their  cigarettes  on  tiie 
little  raised  platforms  wdiich  they  occui)y,  and  their  uniforms 
are  much  less  likely  to  get  wet  there  under  cover  than  they 
would  be  out  in  the  street.  If  I  were  a  Turkish  soldier,  and 
wanted  a  very  easy  time,  with  just  enough  possibility  of  a  little 
disturbance  on  holidays  to  prevent  entire  loss  of  soldierly 
vitrilance,  I  should  like  a  situation  in  one  of  these  two  churches. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  a  sad  commentary  on  the  lack  of  Christian 


BETHLEHEM.  WHERE   ANGELS   SAXG 


^79 


comity  that  the  soldiers  iire  even  permitted  there  on  such  an 
errand. 

The  last  quarrel  at  the  Church  of  the  Sepulcher  occurred 
a  few  weeks  before  we  were  there,  and  with  sad  results.      The 


A  BLrnM:iii:M   i.\mii.\ 


matter   has  since  been   settled.      Dr.  A.   E.    Hunnini;   records 
the  fact,  and  comments  on  it  thus: 


A  row  in  JcriisaUiii  over  llie  ri/i^lit  to  sweep  tlic  Church  of  the  Holy 
Se|)ulclier  ended  in  several  deaths  and  man\  wounds  before  the  Turkish 
troops  couUI  overjiower  the  fij^htin^;  monks.  It  has  now  been  settled  by  the 
sentence  of  tliiriy-four  intruding  (ireeks  to  short  terms  of  imprisonment.  If 
the  wliole  matter  seems  childish,  it  must  l)e  remembered  that  for  centuries 
the  custtxly  of  the  holy  places  has  been  a  (piestion  of  grave  international 
in)p<^)rtance.  It  gave  a  pretext  for  ihc  Crimean  War,  and  llie  lot  al  rows 
between  dreek  and  Latin  monks  have  been  innumerable.  The  whole  ques- 
tion, indeed,  is  like  an  ecclesiastiial  solfatara  the  last  \  eni-hole  o(  th«' vol- 
c.miiof  the  Crusade*;.    In  niit-  in.itii'ruf  prcsciit-d.iv  ini|iori.in< c.  this  i-pisodc 


-So  1111     oil)    WOKl.D    IN     rHl':    NKW    CKNTUUV 

li.is  an  iiitoriiatii>iial  In-ariiitx  of  no  sli>;ht  interest.  !•' ranee  has  long  claimed 
tlu-  ijiiaiilianship  o{  tlie  Latin  interests  in  the  lioiy  placi'S  of  Palestine,  as  well 
as  in  the  Roman  Catholic  missions  in  the  near  and  farther  h'ast.  Hut  the 
wounded  Latin  monks  were  Germans  and  Italians,  and  were  defended  by 
their  respective  governments,  which  obtained  an  irade  from  the  sultan 
recognizing  tlieir  right  to  protect  their  subjects.  So  perishes  in  Turkey  the 
claim  of  France  to  an  e.\clusive  protectorate  over  the  Roman  Catholic  sta- 
tions in  the  Kast,  and  with  it  an  element  of  jirestige  and  an  instrument  of 
intrigue  which — for  a  ct)untry  which  persecutes  the  church  at  home  she 
has  often  used  unscrupulously  in  the   past,      '/'//e   Con^^rei^atioiiiilixt,  July 

I  have  chosen  to  speak  at  length  of  these  ciiiarrels  here, 
rather  than  overburden  the  chapters  on  Jerusalem  with  them, 
because  the  conditions  are  parallel  in  the  two  places.  May 
they  soon  be  changed  in  both.  Let  us  now  return  to  the 
Church  of  the  Nativity. 

The  place  of  Christ's  birth  is  located  in  a  cavern  under- 
neath the  high  altar,  and  is  shared  by  the  three  sects  that 
have  their  separate  quarters  on  the  ground  floor.  Things  do 
not  change  very  often  in  the  Orient,  and  the  site  of  the  old 
caravansary  of  Bethlehem  may  easily  have  been  distinguished 
in  Justin  Martyr's  day.  I  see  no  good  reason  to  doubt  the 
strong  probability  that  in  this  stable  Christ  was  born.  That 
caverns  are  utilized  as  stables  in  Palestine,  we  had  abundant 
proof.  That  this  was  once  a  stable  seems  entirely  probable; 
that  it  was  attached  to  the  khan  at  Bethlehem  I  see  no  reason 
to  doubt.  The  hill  on  which  the  town  is  built  is  so  small  that 
the  position  of  the  village  cannot  greatly  have  changed.  My 
feeling,  as  well  as  my  judgment,  assured  me  that  this  is  the 
spot  where  Joseph  and  Mary  made  their  lodging  on  that  night 
when  the  angels  sang.  In  such  a  place  it  is  something  to  be 
able  to  say  that  the  weight  of  historic  testimony  and  the  facts 
of  topography  make  the  genuineness  of  a  site  probable;  but 
it  is  still  more  to  have  the  aesthetic  feeling  satisfied  that  the 
site  meets  the  essential  conditions,  and  this  is  true  in  J^eth- 
lehein. 

An  Armenian  service  was  in  progress  at  the  time  we  visited 
the  grotto. .  It  was  a  service  of  children,  a  little  dark-haired, 
large-eyed  company,  who  chanted  their  minor  songs  in  praise 


BETHLEHEM,  WHERE   ANGELS   SANG 


281 


of  Him  who  there  was  born.  The  words  were  unintelligible, 
and  the  music  was  unfamiliar,  but  the  service  seemed  strangely 
appropriate  for  the  place. 

In  the  Latin  section  of  the  building  we  found  a  school  in 
session,  a  large  Christian  institution  taught  by  the  monks. 
There   is  no   better  use   to  which   a   portion   of  this  building 


KKSTINMi    ON    TIIF.    WAV    Ti  >    Ml   1U<<>N 
Photograph  by  Mrs.  K.  B.  Newell 

could  be  dedicated  than  that  of  the  instruction  of  l)oys  .ind 
girls  of  the  village  of  l^ethlchem,  in  the  name  of  Christ  wId 
was  born  there. 

Jerome  lived  at  Hethlehcm.  :i\u\  here  did  much  of  his  work 
of  translating  the  Bible  into  the  Vulgate.  The  place  where 
he  did  it  is  pointed  out  in  one  of  the  subterranean  vaults  of 
the  Church  of  the  Nativity.  It  is  fitting  that  this  event,  which 
spread  the  gospel  to  so  many  millions,  should  h.ive  occurred 
on  this  spot  where  Jesus  was  born.  Of  course  they  showed 
us    lerome's   toml).    and    it    mattcrx    little    that    the   tradition 


:Sj 


rill     oil)    WOULD    IN     lili-.    NKW    ClCNl'TUV 


wliicli  locates  it  uiuler  this  roof  is  onI\-  tlin'c  huiulrcd  years 
oKl.  Wo  (.1(1  not  ncctl  to  know  where  tlie  saint's  dead  body 
was  laii.1,  since  we  l<now  and  jiossess  the  immortal  work  which 
he  pert\irnied. 

Jieyond    l^ethlehem  lies   Hebron,  a  drive  of   five  or  a   ride 
of  six  hours  from   Jerusalem.      Hebron  is  a  city  so  ancient  that 


THE    OAK    OF    ABRAHAM 


it  was  counted  in  mediaeval  ages  the  scene  of  the  creation  of 
Adam.  Here  Abraham  pitched  his  tent,  and  here  is  shown 
an  oak  so  manifestly  old  that  it  is  declared  to  have  been  the 
oak  of  Mamre,  under  which  the  patriarch  sat  when  he  enter- 
tained the  angels.  Here  Sarah  was  buried  in  the  Cave  of 
Machpelah.  The  cave  is  now  believed  to  exist,  and  it  is 
covered  with  a  mosque  which  no  Christian  may  enter  save  by 
a  special  firman  of  the  sultan.  Edward  VH.,  when  I'rince 
of  Wales,  was  here  in  1881,  and  was  the  last  Christian  admit- 
ted. The  mosque  was  built  as  a  Christian  churcli,  by  the 
Crusaders,  about  i  167.      The  village  of  Hebron  itself  is  unat- 


BETHLEHEM,  WHERE   ANGELS   SANC 


-^S3 


tractive,  and   has  little  except  the  oak  and   the  cave  to  com- 
mend it  to  the  tourist. 

By  starting  early,  and  cutting  short  one's  stay  in  Hebron, 
one  may  make  both  this  town  and  Bethlehem  in  a  day;  but 
care  must  be  taken  to  leave  time  for  Bethlehem.  On  no 
account  must  one  slight  this  place.  It  is  so  much  more 
interesting  than  Hebron  that  it  is  far  better  to  omit  Hebron 
than  to  pass  hurriedly  through  Bethlehem. 


Till.    SIIKl'llEKDS      Kli:i.l) 


One  returns  from  liethlehem  with  a  feeling  more  akin  to 
complete  satisfaction  than  he  finds  anywhere  in  Palestine, 
outside  of  Galilee.  It  is  a  place  that  stirs  one's  holiest 
memories.  Almost  every  event  connected  with  its  history  is 
remembered  with  haj)py  associations.  I  In-  beautiful  idyl  of 
Ruth,  the  history  of  the  generous  and  nianl\'  I'riiue  l)avid. 
and  the  story  of  the  song  and  the  star,  wake  in  the  visitor  the 
most  sacred  emotions  of  reverence  and  gratitude,  'rhcic 
never  was  a  star  that  shone  on  earth  with  light  so  blessed  as  that 
which  guided  men  to  the  manger  where  lay  tin-  i'rince  of  Peace  ; 
there  never  was  a  song  so  .sweet  as  that  w  hich  the  angels  sang 
that  night,  whose  echoes  are  in  all  om  noblest  music: 


-:S}  iiii-.  ni.n  WOULD  IN    rill'.  ni:\v  century 

II  lanu-  upon  tlie  niiilnight  clc;ir, 

'I'liat  yU)rious  soii>;  nf  (ihi, 
Kroin  an<;t.'ls  iKMidiiij;  iii-ar  the  eaitli, 

l"o  toucli  ilirii"  liarps  with  ;j,<)hi; 
"  Peace  to  tlio  earth,  good-will  to  iikmi, 

From  heaven's  all-gracious  King  " 
The  eartli  in  solemn  stillness  lay, 

W'  hear  the  angels  sing. 

()  ye,  lieneath  life's  crushing  load, 

Whose  forms  are  bending  low, 
Wlio  toil  along  the  climbing  way, 

With  painful  stejis  and  slow, — 
L(K)k  upl  for  glad  an(i  golden  hours 

Come  swiftly  on  the  wing; 
Oh,  rest  beside  the  weary  road, 

And  hear  the  angels  sing! 

It  is  not  strange  that  even  tlie  stolid  find  themselves 
repeating  such  lines  in  Bethlehem  ;  it  would  be  strange  were 
it  not  so.  And  if  a  man  be  a  Christian,  and  have  in  his  soul 
a  shred  of  that  sentiment  which  makes  the  poet,  the  singer,  or 
the  seer,  he  repeats  with  new  significance  the  words  of  the 
prophet : 

But  thou,  Bethlehem  Ephratah,  though  thou  be  little  among  the  thou- 
sands of  Judah,  yet  out  of  thee  shall  he  come  forth  unto  me  that  is  to  be 
ruler  in  Israel  (Micah  5-2). 

Here  he  feels  new  Joy  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise 
which  the  prophets  longed  for  but  their  earthly  eyes  saw  not. 

Here  the  songs  he  loves  take  on  a  new  sweetness.  And 
how  many  of  them  belong  to  Bethlehem!  From  Handel's 
triumphant  chorus,  "For  unto  us  a  Child  is  born,"  to  the 
latest  and  simplest  Christmas  carol;  and  from  the  good  old- 
fashioned,  time-honored  hymn,  "While  shepherds  watched 
their  flocks  by  night,"  to  Phillips  i^rooks'  exquisite  "O 
little  town  of  Bethlehem,"  they  ring  in  his  cars,  and  give  fit 
expression  to  his  feelings.  And  what  but  poetry  and  music, 
consecrated  by  the  love  of  Christian  hearts,  can  worthily 
celebrate  this  spot?  For  here  perhaps,  in  the  very  "Shep- 
herds' Field"  that  is  pointed  out,  and  certainly  within  the 
range  of  vision  as  one  stands  there  and  looks  about,  was  heard 


BETHLEHEM,  WHERE   ANGELS   SANG  2S5 

the  song  of  the  angels  announcing  the  Saviour's  birth.  No 
event  in  all  earth's  history  was  so  fit  to  be  introduced  with 
song.  A  perfect  burst  of  melody  accompanies  it  in  the  Gos- 
pels. There  is  a  quartette  of  earth  and  a  chorus  of  heaven. 
Zacharias  sings  his  Bcnedictns,  and  Simeon  his  Xunc  Dimittis; 
Elizabeth  breaks  forth  with  her  Beatitude,  and  Mary,  clear  as 
the  lark,  sings  her  Magnificat.  When  else  on  earth  were  ever 
heard  four  voices  such  as  these,  singing  each  its  solo  blending 
with  the  rest  into  one  unapproachable  anthem?  And  above 
them  all  bend  the  angels  with  their  Ciloria.  One  reads  of 
this  in  other  places;  he  hears  it  in  his  heart  at  Bethlehem. 
Here  for  a  blessed  moment  the  sight  and  sound  of  the  world 
as  it  is  are  lost,  and  the  air  vibrates  again  with  angel  voices, 
singing: 

Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  goodwill  toward  men! 


CHAPTER  XIX 

JAl'l-A:     l-AREWKLL    TO    I'Al.ESTINE 

Jaffa  is  the  city  of  I'alcstinc  which  most  tourists  see  first, 
aiul  is  therefore  very  fully  described  in  all  books  about  the 
country.  We  reversed  the  order,  and  saw  it  under  no  halo 
of  novelty.      Hut  it  was  far  from  lacking-  in  interest. 

W'c  left  Jerusalem  early  on  a  Monday  morning,  and  drove 
in  carriages  to  the  railway  station,  where  our  special  train  was 
waitinsf.  The  locomotive  was  one  built  for  tlie  road  across 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  the  road  is  owned  by  a  French 
company.  The  cars  are  comfortable,  and  the  journey,  while 
not  a  rapid  one,  is  made  so  much  more  quickly  than  in  the 
old  way,  and  comfortably  as  well,  that  we  were  glad  enough 
of  the  new  method  of  transportation.  It  disturbs  one's  senti- 
ment a  bit  to  hear  the  whistle  of  the  locomotive  in  the  Holy 
Land,  but  it  rests  his  weary  frame,  and  there  comes  a  time 
when  rest  is  worth  considering. 

At  a  little  station  between  Jaffa  and  Jerusalem  I  saw  a 
camel  hitched  to  the  station  paling,  and  ran  out  while  the 
train  stopped  to  make  a  snap-shot  of  him  with  the  locomotive 
in  the  background.  I  hurried  back  to  the  train,  not  so  much 
in  fear  of  its  leaving  as  to  escape  the  owner  of  the  camel,  who 
demanded  bakshish  for  the  photograph  which  I  had  taken. 
One  may  photograph  anything  in  Palestine,  but  there  is  noth- 
ing so  ancient  or  so  thoroughly  public  in  its  character  that 
some  individual  does  not  demand  bakshish  if  you  point  a 
camera  at  it.  There  is  something  suggestive  in  the  combina- 
tion of  camel  and  engine.  It  represents  rapid  transit,  past  and 
future. 

As  we  were  sitting  in  the  train  at  Jerusalem,  a  man  and 
woman  walked  through  the  cars  distributing  cards,  which 
introduced  them  as  "Mr.  and  Mrs.  Georges  O'Mally,  walking 

286 


JAFFA:    FARE\V1:LL   TO    PALKSTINE 


:S: 


around  the  world,  1897- 1902."  They  had  started  on  their 
honeymoon  five  years  before,  and  had  gotten  as  far  as  Jerusa- 
lem, subsisting  on  the  contributions  of  the  people  as  they 
went.  They  wanted  some  money  from  us;  but  we,  by  this 
time,  were  ready  to  have  some  one  else  bestow  bakshish  upon 
us.  So  the  appearance  of  the  bride  and  groom  contributed 
more  to  our  diversion  than 
to  their  financial  profit.  I 
should  like  to  know  how 
they  have  come  to  enjoy 
each  other  during  this  pro- 
longed and  unique  bridal 
tour;  for  how  c;in  two  walk 
around  the  world  together 
except  they  be  agreed? 

We  crossed  the  beauti- 
ful and  fertile  plain  of 
Sharon,  and  passed  through 
the  ancient  city  of  Lydda, 
where  St.  George,  the  pa- 
tron saint  of  England,  and 
the  hero  of  the  encounter 
with  the  dragon,  is  said  to 
have  been  born.  It  was 
here  at  Lydda  that  Peter 
was   staying    when    the 

Christians  of  Joppa  invited  him  to  visit  that  city  at  the  time 
of  the  death  of  the  generous  and  skilful  1  )urcas,  whose  charity- 
has  made  her  name  sacred  to  numerous  organizations  ot 
Christian  women. 

And  so  we  came  to  Joppa,  or  Jaffa,  as  it  now  is  called. 
Jaffa  is  beautiful  entnigh  to  the  eyes  of  the  tourist  just  aljout 
to  set  foot  on  the  Holy  Land.  It  is  hardly  less  interesting, 
with  its  fertile  soil  and  activitw  to  one  who  has  finished  the 
tour  f)f  that  region  of  sloth  and  sterility.  Mr.  William  I".. 
Curtis,  the  versatile  writer,  gives  the  following  excellent 
description  of  Jaffa  : 


KMMI)    TKAXSIT    I'AST    AND    KflTKr 


-'SS         TiiK  (M.i>  woKi.n  IN    rill.  \i:\\   CKNTrm' 

liiff.i  is  a  ritv  i>l  tin-  most  aiuii'iii  tvin,  ami  tiu'  primitive  costumes  of 
tlic  patriarchal  aye  ami  most  mmU'in  improvements  arc  broii<;lit  together 
licro  in  striking  contrast.  At  the  market-iilacc  one  can  see  the  genuine  East, 
a  conil->ination  of  Oriental  features  and  colors,  from  sunrise  to  simset,  with  a 
crowd  of  people  chattering  at  each  other  in  all  the  languages  of  Asia  Minor 
— country  peasants,  foreign  pilgrims.  Bedouins,  Arabs,  Syrians,  l'"gyptians, 
Turks,  and  Jews,  mixed  up  with  camels,  mules,  donkeys,  goats,  buffaloes, 
cows,  oxen,  dogs,  parrots,  ducks,  geese,  hens,  and  chickens,  all  talking  or 
screaming  or  braying  at  the  same  time,  each  trying  to  attract  attention  to 
himself  or  the  wares  he  has  for  sale;  every  product  of  the  semi-tropical 
region;  everv  fabric  made  by  (Irieiilal  hands:  luscious  fruits  from  the  or- 
chards in  the  neighborhood,  lemons,  oranges,  pomegranates,  quinces,  apples, 
apricots,  strawberries;  every  variety  of  vegetables,  and  cheese,  poultry, 
and  eggs,  figs  and  olives,  olive  oil  in  pigskin  bottles,  and  petroleum  in  tin 
cans;  meat  of  all  kinds,  dried  fish,  everything  that  anybody  wants  or  that 
can  be  jiroduced  or  procured  in  this  country  is  s[)read  out  upon  the  ground, 
either  with  an  old  woman  or  a  young  one  trying  to  persuade  people  to  buy, 
and  screaming  at  them  at  the  top  of  her  voice.  It  is  a  novel  and  interesting 
sight.  The  outdoor  market  of  Jaffa  furnishes  as  fascinating  a  picture  as  an 
artist  can  find  anywhere  in  the  East. 

laffa  is  famous  for  her  gardens.  They  extend  around  the  city  in  a  belt 
aliout  seven  miles  long  and  a  mile  and  a  half  wide,  produce  two  or  three 
crops  a  year,  and  have  been  producing  since  shortly  after  Noah's  ark 
landed  on  Ararat.  Indeed,  one  of  the  legends  is,  that  Jaffa  was  not 
destroved  like  the  rest  of  the  world,  or  even  injtned,  by  the  flood.  I  caimot 
(luite  make  out  how  it  escaped,  but  plenty  of  old  Moslem  moidahsliere  will 
explain  the  phenomenon  if  you  will  come  over  here  and  listen  to  them. 
The  soil  seems  to  be  inexhaustible,  and  an  artesian  basin  under  the  city  is 
a  never-failing  supply  of  water  for  irrigating  purposes,  which  is  pumped 
into  distributing  reservoirs  by  curious  old  wheels. 

All  the  way  through  Palestine  the  Jaffa  oranges  had  been 
our  delisht  and  almost  our  salvation.  An  Oriental  breakfast 
is  exceedingly  light  and  not  always  palatable.  It  is  a 
most  welcome  sound  which  one  hears,  in  the  middle  of  the 
forenoon,  from  some  muleteer  anxious  to  turn  an  honest 
penny, — 

"Tree  lollang,  lialf  a  franci  Tree  lollang,  half  a  franc!" 
Three  oranges  arc  none  too  many  about  that  time  in  the 
morning,  and  half  a  franc  is  a  price  the  tourist  is  quite  willing 
to  pay.  At  Jaffa  these  same  oranges  arc  furnished  fresh  from 
the  tree,  with  a  bit  of  stem  and  leaf  still  attached  to  each,  in 
proof  that  they  have  not  been  long  in  the  market.  The  price 
here   is  very  low,  and    one   may    buy  a   Ijasket    for   a   sliiliing. 


JAFFA:    FAREWP:LL   TO    PALESTINE 


2S9 


but  is  quite  likely  to  find  the  bottom  half  of  the  basket  filled 
with  leaves  or  brown  paper. 

Anything  can  be  bought  here  that  is  sold  in  Palestine. 
The  bazaars  are  built  out  to  the  street  as  in  most  Palestine 
towns,  and  the  picturesque  groups  of  people  before  them  give 
a  pleasing  variety  even  to  one  who  has  already  made  a  tour 
of  the  interior  towns.      Whatever  one  has  failed  to  buy  else- 


I.VDDA 


where,  will  here  be  offered  if  not  thrust  upon  him,  the  venders 
pressing  one  to  the  very  wharf. 

Jaffa  is  a  kaleidoscope  of  all  that  the  departing  tourist  has 
witnessed.  lie  finds  it  a  delightful,  heterogeneous,  whitcy- 
yellow,  jumbled  up  city,  a  review  and  reminiscence,  a  reeking, 
wriggling,  howling  epitome  It  puts  salt  on  the  tail  of  his 
Palestine  experiences,  and  holds  them  in  his  hand  for  a  single 
fleeting  day  before  they  spread  their  wings  ami  are  gone. 

Joppa  would  have  a  more  proniiiunt  plact-  in  Hiblical  his- 
tory if  the  Jews  had  been  fond  of  tin-  watir.  In  all  the  time 
that  they  occu[)ied  Palestine  tluy  rarely  Ii.kI  possession  of 
much  of  the  coast.  To  the  north  about  Acre,  'I'yre  and 
.Sidon,  the  descendants  of  the  old    Phoenicians  held  the  ports, 


2qo 


v\\\:  (M.n  \\(>i>:i.i)  in    iiii-:  m:w  ci:xirRV 


aiul  to  the  smith  the  rhihstincs  had  the  coast  phiin.  The 
Jews  were  essentially  resiilents  oi  the  mountains,  and  this  was 
their  <inly  poit. 

The  IMuvnicians  were  the  early  navigators  of  this  region. 
Tliey  were  first  cousins  of  the  Jew's,  and  it  is  interesting  to 
conjecture  what    the  result  would    have  been  to   civilization  if 


\ 

iM'\i  I'lfi'^^^^^ 

AMONG   THE    ROCKS   IN   JAFFA   HARBOR 

the  Phoenicians  had  possessed  the  Jewish  religion  or  the  Jews 
had  been  as  good  sailors  as  their  neighbors  and  kinsmen. 

Once  and  once  only  in  their  history  did  the  Jews  attempt 
to  become  a  maritime  power.  It  was  when  the  influence  of 
Jezebel  was  dominant  in  both  Israel  and  Judah,  her  son  ruling 
in  the  northern  kingdom  and  her  daughter  being  married  to 
the  crown  prince  of  Judah.  Solomon  had  called  in  the  sea- 
manship of  Hiram,  King  of  Tyre,  to  import  the  materials  for 
his  temple,  but  Jezebel  aspired  to  bring  the  maritime  glory 
as  well  as  the  religion  of  Tyre  into  the  dominions  where  she 
herself  was  queen.  So  her  son.  Ahaziah,  and  her  daughter's 
father-in-law,  Jehoshaphat,  having  pushed  their  concpiests 
southward  till  they  secured  a  port  on  the  Red  Sea,  built  a 
great  fleet,  as  is  recorded  in  2  Chronicles  20:  35-37.      I^ut  the 


JAFFA:    FAREWELL   TO    PALESTINE 


29 


fleet  suffered  shipwreck,  and  the  people  interpreted  the  event 
as  a  judgment  of  God,  because  of  the  unholy  alliance  of  the 
good  king  Jehoshaphat  and  the  wicked  house  of  Ahab  and 
Jezebel.  So  perished  the  single  ambition  of  the  Jewish 
people  to  become  a  sea  power.  From  that  day  to  this, 
though    with    strongly   developed    commercial    instincts,    the 


COURTVARIJ— HOUSE   OF    SIMON    TIIK     lANNlK 

Jews  have  ever  been  disinclined  to  navigation.  I'rom  the  old 
ports  of  Tyre  and  Sidon  sailed  fleets  whose  sails  whitened 
the  Mediterranean,  and  whose  seamen  gave  names  to  her 
distant  harbors;  but  the  Jew  who  fled  from  the  presence  of 
the  Lord  as  Jonah  did,  sailed  on  the  deck  of  a  foreign  vessel, 
whose  sailors  prayed  to  Neptune,  or  some  other  deity,  and  got 
ashore  as  best  he  could.  The  same  system  continues  with 
slight  modifications  to  the  present  day. 

When  .Solomon  would  build  a  temple,  he  caused  the 
timbers  from  lyre  to  be  floated  to  Joppa,  wisely  giving  the 
work    of    navigation    into    the    hands    of    the    Txrian     king. 


ji)-'  rill    oil)  woKi.n  IN  •nil".  ni:w  ri:\"rrKV 

TIk'  huiKlin^-  of  the  toiiiplc  was  tlic  chief  event  of  the  Old 
Testament  histor\-  w  hieh  hiiiiL;"s  Joppa  into  pioniinciicc.  The 
cit\-  is  better  renieinberetl,  however,  in  connection  witli 
Jonah's  attempt  to  escape  from  tlu-  presence  of  tlie  Lord.  It 
was  at  Joppa  that  he  took  ship.  And  here  let  me  remark  in 
passing  that  the  present  landing  facilities  are  only  a  moderate 
improvement  on  the  whale. 

The  most  notable  event  which  relates  to  the  Christian  his- 
tor\-  of  Joppa  was  the  vision  which  Peter  saw  which  disposed 
him  to  receive  the  messengers  from  Cornelius,  showing  him 
that  God  is  willing  to  accept  the  devotion  of  one  who  is  not 
a  Jew.  This  was  the  beginning  of  that  liberal  movement  in 
the  early  church  which  prepared  the  Christian  faith  to  become 
universal.  The  house  of  Simon  the  tanner  is  still  shown. 
Whether  it  is  genuine  or  not  need  not  concern  us  greatly.  It 
is  an  ancient  house,  overlooking  the  sea,  and  its  flat  roof  is 
such  a  one  as  might  have  been  the  scene  of  Peter's  vision. 
This  is  the  center  of  interest  to  tourists  in  Joppa,  and  the 
first  place  visited  by  them. 

From  the  house  of  Simon  the  tanner,  we  went  directly  to 
the  wharf.  The  great  ship  that  had  been  our  home  for  so 
many  weeks,  and  from  which  we  had  now  been  separated  for 
so  long  a  time,  lay  in  the  offing,  and  boats  were  at  the  wharf 
ready  to  take  us  aboard.  Into  these  we  made  our  way  with 
all  possible  expedition.  Quarantine  restrictions  caused  some 
fussiness  on  the  part  of  the  ol^cials,  and  we  were  interested 
in  seeing  how  they  would  take  care  of  us.  The  boats  in 
which  we  first  embarked  were  not  those  which  took  us  to  the 
ship.  To  these  we  had  to  be  transferred,  because  whatever 
touched  the  ship  would  have  to  lie  at  anchor  for  four  days; 
so  we  and  all  our  belongings  were  transferred  to  other  boats 
a  little  distance  from  the  wharf.  The  health  ofificers  followed 
us  out,  and  after  they  had  seen  the  last  of  us  on  board,  they 
worked  a  little  hand  pump  that  threw  some  disinfectant  into 
the  boats  from  which  we  had  come.  To  us  it  was  very  funny, 
for  we  and  our  baggage  were  about  the  only  things  in  Pales- 
tine that  did  not  need  disinfecting. 


JAFFA:    FAREWELL   TO    PALESTINE 


293 


The  boatmen  of  Joppa  are  good  sailors,  and  able  to  handle 
their  crafts  in  very  rough  water.  They  also  have  a  keen  eye 
for  bakshish,  and  never  row  so  hard  or  fast  as  to  fail  to  pass 
the  hat.  It  makes  no  difference  if  they  have  been  overpaid 
at  the  start,  or  if  the  price  agreed  upon  includes  the  bakshish  ; 
they  still   demand  it,  and   as  a   rule  collect   it.      They  have   a 


A    LAST    I.OOK    AT   JAKIA 


very  persuasive  way  of  collecting.  Tiicy  make  their  demand 
half-way  from  ship  to  shore,  and  if  it  is  refused,  the  helms- 
man puts  his  tiller  about,  throws  the  boat  into  the  trougli. 
and  the  men  at  the  oars  reduce  their  pull  to  an  effort  that 
may  aggregate  a  pound  to  the  stroke.  It  is  useless  to  rccjuest 
them  to  go  on;  with  the  most  stolid  indifference  they  raise 
and  drop  their  oars,  the  boat  lying  rocking  in  the  trough,  a 
direct  invitation  to  seasickness.  The  measure  rarel\'  fails. 
The  passengers  feel  their  breakfast  rising,  and  the  uKuu-y 
comes  with  it.  It  is  barefaced  pirac)',  and  of  a  most  effective 
type.  We  gladly  paid  our  bakshish  and  waved  our  farewells 
to  friends   on   shore.      Our  dragomen  were   there,  and    others 


JQI 


Tin:  ni.i>  woui.n  i\    iiii:  \i:w  CKN'rrm 


with  wluun  w  i-  luul  become  aciiuaintccl  diiiiiii;  our  tour  in  tlic 
lloly  Land.  The)-  would  oladly  hav^e  come  on  board  with 
us  hail  the  tjuarantine  permitted,  but  this  coukl  not  be,  so  we 
partetl  from  them  at  the  dock.  Nowhere,  save  at  New  York", 
dill  we  leave  so  large  a  company  of  those  w  hom  we  felt  to  be 
our  friends. 


OFF    FOR    ALKXAXDKIA 


CHAPrER  XX 
RAPID    TRANSIT    IN     TMI-:    ORIENT 

The  means  of  travel  in  Eastern  lands  are  so  various,  ami 
the  experiences  of  roads  and  changes  of  language  are  so  intcr- 
estin<T,  that  I  desire  to  insert  a  chapter  on  these  and  sundry 
matters.  If  any  one  wearies  of  reading  it,  he  may  safely  omit 
it,  and  make  his  way  straight  on  to  I\gypt,  and  wait  on  the 
wharf  at  Alexandria  for  the  arrival  of  the  ship,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  next  chapter. 

The   first  thing    I  want  to   talk  al)()ut    is  the   camel.      We 
do  not  always  remember  how  much  we  owe  to  him  as  a  factor 
in    our    modern    civilization.       No    other   animal    could    have 
traversed   the  desert   as  the  camel  has  done,   conveying  salt 
and  other  commodities  far  back  over  the  desert,  and  bringing 
thence  the  spices  and   tapestries  to   the   ports  that  scattered 
them  to  all   the  world.      When  on   the  marcli   the  camel   goes 
three  days  without   drinking,  and  suffers   no  especial    discom- 
fort, for   he   has   a   reserve   water   supply   in    the  walls   of   his 
stomach.      lie  can    abstain  a  fourth    day  if   necessary  without 
much   inconvenience,  and  when   grazing  will  go  cheerfully  for 
a  week  at  a  time  or  often  longer  without  any  drink  whatever. 
Hut  when   he  drinks  he  stores  away  a   suppl\-  for   the   future. 
His  humps   are  another   reservoir.       Ihex-  are   simply  masses 
of  fat,  with  no  curvature  of  the  spine  corresponding  to  them. 
These   humps   diminish    during   a   long   journr\-,    the   cimel's 
system   drawing  on    their   storage  according   to  his   need.      A 
camel-driver,    therefore,  before   starting  on  a   journry.  exam- 
ines the  animals'  humps  to  be  sure  that  they  will  be  able  to  go 

through. 

Although  on  occasion  li<'  is  well  content  with  modest  fare, 
the  camel  is  a  high  liver  when  he  has  a  chance.  It  is  not 
because   he  has  any  special   taste  for   fim-    food,  however;   he 

29.S 


2q6  VWV    nl  I)    \\t)l>:i,l)    IN     llll.    Nl'.W    CKNll'KV 

simply  cats  cxorxthiiii;  in  si^ht.  ,iiul  has  so  little  discretion 
about  his  catiiii;-  that  he  ncctls  to  be  watcheil  when  there  is 
an  abundance,  lest  he  e.it  soniethini;  injurious  to  himself,  or 
consume  too  much  ot  otherwise  wholesome  food. 

A  string  of  camels  is  usually  preceded  by  a  donkey  bearing 
the  jx'isonal  effects  of  the  dri\er  and  some  of  the  articles  for 
the  camp.  Following  him  comes  the  driver,  leading  the  first 
camel,  and  the  halter-rope  of  each  animal  is  tied  to  the  saddle 
of  the  camel  preceding.  The  pack  saddle  is  made  of  two 
stronsi  forks  of  wood,  not  unlike  the  bottom  of  a  huue  saw- 
buck,  to  which  transverse  poles  are  made  fast.  This  rests 
upon  a  thick  pad,  covering  the  camel's  two  humps,  and  is  not 
commonly  removed  when  the  camel  is  temporarily  relieved  of 
its  burden. 

Of  all  living  creatures,  probably  the  camel  is  the  most 
ungraceful.  The  popular  story  told  to  tourists  is  that  the 
camel  and  elephant  ran  a  race  to  see  which  could  get  into  the 
ark  first.  The  elephant  won,  but  the  camel  got  his  back  up 
about  it.  It  is  sometimes  added  that  the  camel  had  to  hump 
himself,  or  he  would  never  have  gotten  in  at  all.  It  was  his 
usefulness  rather  than  his  beauty  that  made  him  worth  saving 
at  the  time  of  the  deluge.  The  ungainliness  of  his  humps  is 
accentuated  by  his  neck  and  head,  which  seem  to  be  put  on 
at  perfectly  absurd  angles.  But  despite  the  downward  curve 
of  the  neck  as  it  leaves  the  body,  the  head  is  carried  so  erect 
that  the  nose  is  practically  horizontal.  The  halter  is  some- 
times surmounted  by  a  little  feather  rosette  on  the  bridge  of 
the  nose,  which  is  the  camel's  one  pretense  of  artistic  trapping. 

Even  in  his  best  estate  the  camel  seems  ancient;  and  as 
he  ordinarily  appears  on  the  road  he  looks  decidedly  moth- 
eaten,  and  a  survival  of  departed  glory.  We  looked  long  for 
a  young  camel,  and  came  to  doubt  whether  such  a  thing 
exists,  or  ever  has  existed.  After  long  observation  we  dis- 
covered a  few  of  them  ;  but  even  these  looked  old  and  prema- 
turely solemn,  as  if  already  anticipating  the  burdens  which 
they  must  bear.  As  I  did  not  ride  a  camel  in  Palestine,  I  do 
not  know  their  favorite  names,  but  imagine  them  to  be  Solo- 


RAPID     TRANSIT    IN    THE    ORIENT 


297 


mon  and  Abraham,  with  an  occasional  Noah  or  IMethuselah. 
In  Egypt  the  most  frequent  name  is  Rameses  II.,  and  now 
and  then  there  is  a  Thothmes  or  Menephtah.  The  camel 
continues  to  grow  for  sixteen  or  seventeen  years,  and  is  said 
to  live  to  the  age  of  forty  or  fifty.  The  latter  seems  to  me  a 
very  conservative  statement.  I  saw  very  few  camels  that  did 
not  look  to  be  nearly  as  old  as  the  Pyramids.  And  in  truth,  the 
animal's  ancient  appearance  is  not  misleading.      He  is  ancient. 


AN    AKAI5    CAMl' 

being  one  of  the  .jldcst  mammals  now  living.  Fossil  remains 
of  an  animal  somewhat  larger  than  tlu:  camel,  l.ut  otherwise 
practically  identical,  have  been  found  in  Miocene  rocks.  It 
is  impossible  to  express  his  anti-iuily  in  years,  but  they  must 
reach  into  the  millions.  We  have  found  the  five-toed  ancestor 
of  the  horse,  and  are  able  to  trace  the  vast  and  .scattered  cat- 
tribe  toward  a  common  ancestor;  but  the  e.unel  st.mds  alone 
and  self-sufficient.  lie  needs  no  ancestor;  lu-  i>  an  ancestor. 
The  camel  ruminates  his  f...,d  and  has  a  .second  stomach, 
but  does  not  possess  horns  or  hoofs  as  do  other  animals  that 
chew  the  cud.  There  are  different  branches  of  the  family, 
some  with    one    hump   and    some   with    two.       Naturalists   aie 


29i)  nil    oi  i>  woKi.D  IN    iiii'.  m:w  eKxirm' 

unable  to  (.Iccitlc  throui^h  what  line  of  ilcsci'iit  the  camel's 
o-oneaioirx'  shoviKl  be  tiaced.  llis  aiiti(|iiit\-  stietches  back  so 
far  beyoiul  the  dawn  oi  histoi)-  that  he  has  no  family  tree, 
lie  stands  anuMii;-  the  beasts  oi  the  eaith  a  kind  of  Melchize- 
dek.  without  father  or  mother  or  any  assigned  be^inninq;  in 
history. 

The  camel  has  a  very  earl\-  place  in  recorded  human  his- 
tory, rharaoh  presented  camels  to  Abraham.  When  Isaac 
metlitateil  in  the  fields  at  eventide,  and  thout^ht  of  his  future 
bride,  he  looked  up,  and  behold,  the  camels  were  coming 
with  Rebekah.  The  Midianites  who  were  traveling  from  the 
land  of  Gilead  to  I^gypt,  and  who  bought  Joseph  from  his 
brethren,  were  traveling  Avith  camels  laden  with  spices.  Job 
possessed  six  thousand  of  these  beasts. 

The  camel  is  reputed  to  be  a  very  patient  beast,  but  he  is  ex- 
ceedingly resentful,  and  sometimes  gives  a  total  stranger  a  pass- 
ing' kick,  throufjh  mere  wantonness.  Now  and  then  he  takes  a 
man  in  his  teeth  and  gives  him  a  good  shaking.  In  general, 
I  doubt  not,  the  man  deserves  it. 

The  camel's  gait  is  as  uncomfortable  as  one  can  well  im- 
airine;  nobodv  ever  gets  used  to  it.  Those  who  have  ridden 
camels  all  their  lives  rock  back  and  forth  at  every  jerk  of  the 
great  clumsy  beast,  whose  strides  seem  so  ill  adjusted  to  each 
other  as  to  make  one  fear  that  the  camel  will  rock  himself  to 
pieces,  and  break  his  rider's  spine  in  twenty  places.  A  mem- 
ber of  our  company  was  importuned  by  an  Arab  to  ride  his 
camel,  and  the  American  replied,  "No,  I  do  not  want  to 
read  the  Koran  this  morning."  This  bit  of  American  humor 
was  a  revelation  to  the  Arab,  but  he  saw  the  point  and 
laughed  heartil}-.  The  reader  of  the  Koran  sits  cross-legged 
on  his  prayer-rug  and  rocks  back  and  forth  in  what  appears 
to  the  Occidental  a  most  unreasonable  fashion.  Perhaps  the 
Arab  learned  the  attitude  through  experience  in  camel-riding. 

The  camel  carries  from  four  hundred  to  a  thousand  pounds 
upon  his  back,  and  with  a  rnoderate  load  will  make  anywhere 
from  twenty-five  to  forty  miles  a  day  crossing  the  desert. 
The  dromedaries,  which   are  the   fleetest  of  the  camel  tribe, 


RAPID   TRANSIT   IN     THE    ORIENT 


-99 


sometimes   make  a  hundred   miles.      At   Luxor   I   saw   some 
British   soldiers   mounted   on   the   fleet   animals.      They  were 
the  finest  looking  camels  that  I  saw  anywhere,  well  groomed, 
and  full  of  life.      The  rid- 
ers were   not  graceful,  but 
they    certainly    were    pic- 
turesque,   and    attracted 
much  attention. 

It  is  not  generally 
known  that  an  effort  was 
once  made  to  introduce 
camels  into  the  United 
States  for  purposes  of 
commerce.  Many  of  them 
died  upon  the  first  intro- 
duction to  America,  but  a 
few  survived,  and  their 
descendants  are  still  to  be 
found  in  New  Mexico  and 
Arizona. 

The  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  in  answer  to  a 
rec[uest  for  information 
concerning  these  Ameri- 
can  camels,  furnishes  me 
with  this  extract  from  the 

report  of  the  Governor  of  Arizona,   lion.   1..  ('.  Hughes,  for 
1S93: 

III  tliL-  ve.n-  1855  the  W;ir  DrpartiiRiU  iiniporlcd  fnmi  Smyrii.i,  Asia 
Minor,  a  iiiimi)cr  (if  camels.  Tiicy  weri.-  laiKJcd  at  Calvtstoii,  ami  froiii 
tliere  taken  overland  to  Los  Angeles,  for  the  purpose  <>f  ir.insportinj;  mill 
tary  supplies  from  that  point  to  the  various  coasts  of  southern  Califurnia 
and  Arizona.  Kn  route,  however,  a  number  of  these  camels  were  lost  or 
strayed  in  the  vicinity  of  the  A>,'ua  Caliente,  ahitut  75  miles  east  of  the  Colo- 
rado river.  The  remainder  were  delivered  at  thiir  destination,  Imt  iheir 
use  was  found  inipracticahle.  the  sand  liein^  too  sharp  for  their  (eit,  and 
considerable  hostility  beinj^  e.\cite«l  against  their  use  amongst  teamstersand 
freighters,  wlio  took  occasion  to  shoot  them,  on  the  ground  that  their  pres- 
ence caused  a  statnpede  of  their  horses  and  mules.     ( )f  tlir  camels  taken  to 


K1D1N(J   A   CA.MKL 
Photograpli  by  Miss  Grace  A.  Ross 


300         111!    oil)  wtMsi  n  IN    Till-:  M'w  ii'.Nrruv 

California,  ;i  luiinhcr  was  i\'Uiriu'ii  to  Arizona  in  187(1,  lor  ilic  pnrposr  of 
iransporting;  ores  from  the  ihcn  rich  Silver  Kin;,;  mine. 

Here,  a^ain,  tlieir  presence  was  olijected  to  by  teamsters  and  freighters, 
and  the  hand  was  turned  loose  between  the  Gila  and  Colorado  rivers, 
through  whicli  section  they  have  been  roaming  ever  since.  In  1883  nine  of 
the  baml  were  cajUured  by  Pajiago  Indians  anil  turned  over  to  a  circus.  At 
that  time  tliere  were  twenty  head  in  the  herd,  eleven  of  which  were  two  or 
three  years  old.  The  Arizona  stock  is  said  to  be  a  great  improvement  on 
the  original. 

Col.  IX  K.  Allen,  of  the  Yuiiia  SoitincL  makes  this 
statement   with   reference   to  the  subject: 

At  the  present  time  there  are  ninety-seven  of  them  in  the  mountains 
and  hills  east  of  the  Yuma  and  Harqua  Hala  wagon  roads,  away  from  the 
haunts  of  white  men  and  Indians.  They  have  roamed  mostly  in  the  Eagle 
Tail  Mountains  and  adjoining  ranges,  where  but  few,  if  any,  human  beings 
ever  go.  It  is  estimated  that  if  none  had  been  killed  there  would  now  be 
not  less  than  one  thousand.  They  are  very  wild  and  vicious,  and  make  a 
hard  fight  when  caught  or  even  cornered. 

The  look  upon  the  camel's  face  is  habitually  sad,  and  his 
accustomed  utterance  is  a  groan.  He  groans  when  he  kneels 
down,  and  groans  when  he  rises,  and  groans  under  his  often 
too  heavy  burden.  But  he  is  the  most  valued  of  all  the  ani- 
mals of  the  Orient,  and  is  the  best  cared  for  of  their  beasts  of 
burden.  A  crood  camel  is  said  to  be  worth  about  four  hun- 
dred  dollars,  an  amount  of  money  not  often  possessed  by  an 
inhabitant  of  Syria  or  Egypt.  When  a  married  man  dies,  his 
widow  is  accustomed  to  say,  "I  have  lost  my  camel."  All 
other  women  know  thereby  that  she  places  a  high  value  on 
her  departed  husband. 

So  much  for  the  camel;  now  for  the  roads  which  he  must 
travel.  The  roads  of  Palestine  are  not  all  bad.  The  visit  of 
the  Emperor  William  resulted  in  the  temporary  improvement 
in  the  roads  over  which  he  was  to  pass,  particularly  from 
Haifa  to  Nazareth,  and  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho.  This  is 
precisely  the  thing  thai  has  been  done  in  that  country  from 
the  remotest  ages  when  a  king  was  expected  to  pass  over  a 
given  road.  In  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah  this  custom  is  referred 
to  in  anticipation  of  the  coming  deliverance  of  Israel  from  the 
Babylonian  exile.  The  prophet  stands  as  a  herald  in  the 
wilderness  crying : 


RAPID  TRANSIT   IX   THE   ORIENT  301 

Prepare  ye  the   way  of  the  Lord, 

Make  straight  in  the  desert  a  highway  for  our  God. 

Every  valley  shall  be  exalted, 

And  every  mountain  and  hill  shall  be  made  low: 

And  the  crooked  shall  be  made  straight, 

And  the  rough  places   plain. 

Isa.  40:  3,  4. 

Although  these  roads  have  had  no  work  done  upon  them 
for  several  years,  and  are  now  falling  into  a  sad  state,  they 
are  still  practicable  for  carriages. 

The  horses  furnished  to  tourists  in  Palestine  are  reasonably 
good,  and  in  general  better  than  their  riders  deserve.  It  is  a 
land  where  feed  is  scarce,  and  few  horses  are  overfed,  but 
even  those  that  look  poor  are  often  strong  and  reliable,  and 
are  much  better  beasts  than  I  should  be  willing  to  furnish  to 
inexperienced  riders.  Most  of  them  are  stallions;  mares  are 
considered  too  valuable  for  this  work.  People  who  have 
never  mounted  a  horse  at  home  come  to  Palestine  and 
bestride  a  strange  animal,  expecting   by  some  sort  of   miracle 


THIS   WAV    l-(»l<     rill,    l-VKAMII)^ 
Photograph  by  Miss  Anna  M.  Matthews 


T,o2  rill'  o\Ai  \\oK\.\)  IN    rill'.  Ni;\\   ci'.NirKV 

to  .K\]uirc  the  abilit}-  to  ri^K'  in  a  single  day.  No  one  ever 
rode  on  blisters  Inil  lilanu-d  his  horse.  The  horses,  too,  liave 
saddle  j^^alls,  and  have  good  reason  to  blame  their  masters. 
Some  of  the  horses  are  vicious,  but  not  commonly  so.  Usu- 
all>-  the  rider  who  is  thrown  by  his  beast  accomplishes  that 
result  bv  nervously  mterferiiiL;  with  the  horse  in  a  bad  strip 
of  road.  Left  to  himself,  the  h(-)rse  wouUl  pick  his  way,  and 
he  would  probably  be  grateful  if  the  rider  would  tlismount 
and  walk  over  the  worst  portions  of  the  journe}'.  It  would 
be  better  for  the  rider,  too,  and  woukl  rest  both  him  and  his 
horse;  but  if  the  horse  is  starting  down  a  rocky  place,  and 
the  rider  jerks  at  his  tender  mouth,  and  the  horse,  endeavor- 
ing to  do  the  unreasonable  thing  which  his  rider  compels, 
stumbles  on  a  loose  stone  and  throws  him,  the  rider  imagines 
himself  to  have  just  grountls  for  complaint  against  the  horse. 
The  person  contemplating  a  tour  of  Palestine  should  do  a  little 
horseback  riding  in  advance  as  preparation  for  the  journey, 
and  when  there  should  be  gentle  with  his  beast. 

I  felt  a  special  sympathy  for  the  Palestine  donkey.  Over 
and  over  as  I  rode  through  that  part  of  Samaria  that  once 
belonged  to  Issachar,  1  thought  of  Jacob's  description  of  his 
son,  to  whose  descendants  that  land  was  assigned.  "Issachar 
is  a  strong  ass  crouching  dowm  between  two  burdens" 
(Gen.  49:  14).  It  seems  impossible  to  overload  a  Palestine 
donkey  to  the  point  where  his  owner  will  pity  him.  A 
donkey  is  worth  from  two  to  ten  dollars,  and  costs  his  owner 
little  trouble  for  care  and  keep.  He  crouches  habitually 
betw^een  two  burdens,  and  patience  wath  him  has  long  ceased 
to  be  a  virtue.  If  I  could  organize  a  strike  among  those  who 
suffer  from  too  long  hours  and  too  great  burdens,  I  would 
begin  it  with  the  donkeys  of  the  Orient.  Sometimes  the 
donkey  is  loaded  so  that  he  is  almost  hidden  beneath  the 
burden,  yet  he  bears  it  with  a  patience  that  is  almost  jovial. 
In  Egypt  I  got  a  picture  of  a  donkey  loaded  with  green  hay 
and  two  boys  on  top.  He  Was  one  of  a  procession  of  such 
little  animals  and  they  jogged  very  merrily  along  the  road 
from  the  Pyramids  to  Cairo. 


RAPID   TRANSIT    IN    THE    ORIKNT 


303 


It  is  hard  to  take  the  donkey  quite  seriously,  perhaps 
because  he  himself  seems  so  profoundly  serious.  To  see  a 
tall  man  on  a  tiny  little  beast  with  preposterously  large  ears, 
impresses  one  at  once  as  something  so  disproportionate  that 


A    IJONKKY    AM)    HIS    I.OAI)    IN    l(.\l'T 


he  can  hardly  refrain  from  smiling.  The  natives,  however, 
do  not  smile,  but  jog  along  in  the  most  unconcerned  fashion. 
However,  only  one  full-grown  person  can  ride  a  donkey  at  a 
time,  so  if  a  man  takes  his  wife  with  him  In-  rides  and  she 
walks.  .She  does  not  complain,  and  the  donkey  does  not 
complain;  they  are  both  accustomed  to  it.  I  have  a  |)icture 
of  a  man  and  the  two  women  of  his  houseliohl  trudging  along 
to  their   farm  in  the    i)lain  of    T'sdraelon  ;    the-  ni.m  is  smoking 


^o.f  I'll  I"    (MP    WOK  1.1 )    IN     1111      Ni:\\'    CKNTURV 

his  piiH'    aiul   is    content,  the  wonK'ii    also  sccni    to  he    happ)-, 
and  so  to  all  appearance  is  the  donkey. 

The  prophet  Balaam  was  riding;-  aloni;"  in  this  way,  and  the 
two  ser\'.ints  were  waikini;',  when  the  ass  turned  out  of  the 
waw  aiul  ]-?al.iain  beat  the  ass  according;  to  the  custom  of 
the  counti\-  then  antl  now.  Then  the  ass  crowded  against  the 
wall  and  crushed  Halaam's  foot,  which  served  him  right. 
Again  Balaam  retaliated  by  beating  the  ass.  This,  too,  was 
according  to  custom.  The  ass  fell  down  under  him,  and  he 
beat  the  ass  the  third  time.  I  do  not  wonder  the  ass  pro- 
tested. It  is  not  to  me  so  much  of  a  miracle  that  that  one 
ass  spoke,  as  that  so  many  others  ha\'e  borne  like  treatment 
without  verbal  i)rotest.  It  is  enough  to  make  a  dumb  beast 
cry  out  in  righteous  indignation.  It  is  quite  enough  to  justify 
the  sending  of  an  angel  to  rebuke  the  ill-tempered  owner  of 
the  patient  little  donkey.  It  is  recorded  that  Balaam  said 
unto  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  "I  have  sinned;  for  I  knew  not 
that  thou  stoodest  in  the  way  against  me."  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  he  treated  his  donkey  better  thereafter. 

The  donkey  has  a  habit  of  braying  at  the  most  unexpected 
times,  and  with  a  voice  whose  volume  is  in  direct  contrast 
with  the  size  of  the  donkey  himself.  The  bray  is  such  a 
.pathetic  thing,  as  though  it  were  the  pent-up  protest  of 
generations  of  overloading  and  of  cruel  beating;  yet  there  is 
something  very  comical  about  it.  The  donkey  seems  to  have 
no  object  whatever  in  braying,  except  to  free  his  own  mind, 
and  if   it  affords  him   any  comfort,  surely  he   is  entitled   to  it. 

Apropos  of  the  linguistic  ability  of  donkeys,  Balaam's  and 
the  others,  it  may  be  well  to  discuss  the  question  of  language 
in  oriental  travel. 

Almost  any  kind  of  knowledge  is  likely  to  serve  a  man 
who  possesses  it  if  he  waits  long  enough  for  an  occasion  to  use 
it.  Hence,  probably,  it  would  be  well  for  a  man  to  know  all 
the  languages  of  all  the  countries  which  he  visits.  But,  spite 
of  some  minor  discomforts,  and  probably  some  real  depriva- 
tions consequent  upon  his  ignorance,  one  gets  on  very  well 
with  no  language  but  his  own.      It  is  interesting  to  find  how 


RAPID   TRANSIT    IX   THE   ORIENT 


305 


superfluous  any  other  language  is,  and  how  one's  own  is  often 
at  its  best  where  no  one  understands  it. 

How  valueless,  after  all,  is  much  of  our  talk!      One  feels 
it  when  he  witnesses  the  abundant  amount  of  jabbering  done 


A    MODIiKN    HAI.AAM 


by  foreigners,  and  the  pitiful  accomplishment  resulting  there- 
from. If  he  wants  anything  done,  a  gesture  and  iiakshish 
accomplish  it;  but  alas  for  him  who  has  no  bakshish  ami  can 
only  talk!      Talk  is  cheap. 

Baedeker  kindly  gives  one  a  few  sentences  in  llu-  lan- 
guages of  various  countries,  and  groups  them  acc<")rding  to 
situation.  There  is  a  sample  conversation:  "In  the  custom 
house,"  another  "In  the  shop,"  and  one  "  \W  the  way,"  and 
so  on,  and  there  arc  |)iirases  to  use  with  rich  men,  poor  men. 


3O0  rill-  vH.n  woKi.i)  i.\    lui:  nkw   cknti'kn- 

be^'f'^ar  nun,  .uul  tliicvcs;   but  T  nc\-cr  used  any  (if  tlicni.      My 
nuilctccr  ijavc  nic  a  few  lessons  in  Arabic,  thus: 

■"Spik  Knglisii,  l;ool1  mornini;-;  spik  Arab,  neharak  said." 

"Spik  English,  good  evening;  spik  Aral),  neharak  saideh." 

These  words  I  learned,  and  used  industriously,  the  mule- 
teer, whose  name  was  Caleel,  giving  me  frecjuent  review  les- 
sons, so  that  I  bade  him  good  morning  forty  times  before 
noon,  and  good  evening  as  often  before  the  sun  went  down. 
In  like  manner  he  reviewed  his  own  scanty  stock  of  English, 
and  gave  and  obtained  compliments  therewith.  On  this  wise 
he  began  : 

"Saddle  very  good,  Mis'ah  l^arton?" 

"Yes,  Caleel;   saddle  very  good." 

"Braidle  very  good?" 

"Yes,  the  bridle  is  very  good." 

"Horse  very  good?" 

"Yes,  horse  very  good." 

"Caleel  very  good?" 

"Yes,  Caleel  very  good." 

This   completed   the  list,  and   he   repeated   it  for  his  own 
satisfaction : 

"Saddle  very  good;  braidle  very  good;  horse  very  good; 
Caleel  very  good;   Mis'ah  Barton  very  good." 

In  this  way  we  carried  on  animated  conversations.  If  I 
wanted  to  go  one  way  and   he  another,  I  stopped  and  said  : 

"Caleel!      This  way!" 

If  he  thought  he  knew  better,  he  said: 

"No,  no,  Caleel  very  good,"  and  led  the  other  way. 

If  I  wanted  to  know  the  name  of  a  village,  I  paused  and 
asked  what  I  thought  might  be  its  name. 

"Caleel,  Ramallah?" 

And  he  replied  : 

"No,  no!     Bireh." 

1  cannot  say  that  I  found  Caleel's  knowledge  of  English 
too  meager  for  my  needs,  or  that  I  greatly  mourned  my  lack 
of  a  greater  command  of  Arabic. 

There  are  a  few  words  which  one  hears  so  constantly  from 


RAPID   TRANSIT    IN    THE   ORIENT 


307 


muleteers  and  dragomen  that  he  finds  himself  using  them 
before  he  knows  it,  but  this  habit  has  its  perils.  The  guide- 
book tells  us  to  answer  a  beggar  by  saying,  "This  Lord  give 
unto  thee."   but  the  Apostle  James  has  told  us  how  useless 


CAI-I'.l".l. 


it  is  to  say  to  a  man,  "Depart  in  i)eace,  be  ye  wanned  and 
filled,"  without  making  any  contribution  to  his  needs.  A 
much  more  effective  word  is  that  used  ))>■  the  tiragomcn  to 
beggars  and  peddlers,  "Imshie."  ihis  word  will  actual!}- 
send  them  away  at  times.  Constantly  ami<ned  1)\-  tluir 
importunities,  the  ])eoplc  of  our  part)-  came  to  use  this  wortl 
to  the  beggars  and  peddlers.  One  of  these  latter,  who  spoke 
some  Knglish,  turned  to  one  of  the  ladies  of  the  p.irtw  an<i 
in  a  tone  of  sad  admonition,  said,    "Ma-.idani.   Inisliic.  v(i\-. 


>->S  Till     nl  11    Wi^RI  n    IN     i'lll-    NKW    CKNTl'RY 

\-cr\-  n.ist\-  woiil;  not  a  nice  word  for  a  laci\-  to  use."  The 
huly  tlnis  atUlressecl  lias  been  w oiulcrint;-  over  since  just  what 
she  said  to  him.  1  liave  no  reason  to  l^elieve  that  the  word 
involves  any  intlecont  meaning;-,  l)ut  it  is  an  expression  of  con- 
tempt, or  as  one  peiUller  saitl,  "\'ou  sa\-  Imshie  to  a  dog,  not 
to  a  man.' ' 

Another  expression  whicli  our  people  found  themselves 
using  was  "Yellah."  It  is  an  exclamation  which  teamsters 
employ  in  addressing  their  horses,  and  one  which  the  horses 
seem  to  understand.  The  tourist  who  has  labored  long  in 
the  endeavor  to  secure  a  reasonable  speed  by  the  use  of  the 
whip,  finds  himself,  all  but  unconsciously,  shouting  "Yellah" 
to  his  horse.  It  is  on  record  that  a  company  of  religious 
tourists  once  approaching  Beirut  were  met  outside  the  city  by 
several  of  the  missionaries.  As  they  were  entering  the  city, 
the  travelers,  wishing  to  make  a  good  impression,  whipped  up 
their  horses,  calling  to  them,  "Yellah!  Yellah!"  The  mis- 
sionaries listened  with  horror,  for  yellah  is  said  to  be  derived 
from  Allah,  and  to  be  a  Mohammedan  driver's  swear-word. 

These  incidents  illustrate  the  truth  that  a  man  may  well 
be  careful  about  meddling  with  foreign  languages,  or  coveting 
the  gift  of  tongues. 

A  little  knowledge  of  French  is  of  some  assistance  to  the 
tourist.  The  hotel  bill  of  fare,  when  printed  at  all,  is  com- 
monly in  French,  but  the  main  thing  which  one  wants  of  a 
bill  of  fare  is  to  learn  the  price,  and  no  great  knowledge  of 
French  is  required  for  that.  If  he  is  laboring  with  a  table 
d'hote,  all  the  languages  spoken  at  Babel  would  not  avail  him 
a  particle.  The  established  order  grinds  one  monotonous 
way,  and  neither  the  prayers  nor  imprecations  of  the  traveler 
whose  time  is  short  will  hasten  or  alter  it  in  the  slightest 
degree.  In  general  one  commands  more  respect  by  shouting 
his  orders  in  good  plain  English  than  in  unintelligible  French. 
Nine-tenths  of  it  is  in  the  bakshish,  and  if  on  the  Continent, 
there  bakshish  becomes  "pour-boire."  There  is  a  proverb, 
which  goes  the  rounds  of  betting  circles,  where  a  man's  opin- 
ion counts   for  little,  no  matter  how  emphatically  expressed, 


RAPID   TRANSIT   IX   THE    ORIENT  309 

unless  he  is  willing  to  back  it  with  a  wager,  that  ''money 
talks,"  Money  talks  in  the  Orient.  The  man  who  has  a 
coin  in  his  hand  can  make  himself  understood,  though  he 
does  not  speak  at  all;  but  he  who  has  no  money  may  speak 
with  the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels,  and  it  will  profit  him 
nothing. 

It  is  interesting  to  find  how  widely  English  has  become 
the  language  of  commerce.  Almost  every  respectable  store 
provides  itself  with  an  English-speaking  clerk.  The  sign 
"English  spoken"  is  a  very  common  one.  The  English  is 
not  always  good,  but  it  is  sufficient  for  commercial  purposes, 
and  is  in  use  in  many  places  where  the  sign  is  not  displayed. 
But  if  no  English  is  spoken,  and  one  wishes  to  make  a  pur- 
chase and  knows  how  much  he  ought  to  pay,  it  is  not  at  all 
difficult  to  buy  what  he  wants.  He  may  point  to  it  or  pick 
it  up  and  ask  in  English  the  price.  The  first  question  would 
be  understood  no  matter  in  what  language  he  asked  it,  and 
the  answer  also  is  likely  to  be  intelligible,  and  the  price 
demanded  preposterous.  He  may  wish  to  ask  a  few  other 
questions,  as  to  its  material  and  its  genuineness.  A  single 
word  with  the  rising  inflection  will  bring  an  emphatic  affirma- 
tive in  any  and  every  case.  Silk?  gold?  silver?  antique? 
The  owner  swears  by  all  his  gods  that  it  is  fine  gold,  or  pure 
silver,  and  that  its  antiquity  reaches  back  into  the  twilight  of 
the  human  race.  If  the  purchaser  feels  sure  that  the  owner 
is  telling  the  truth,  he  will  see  the  advantage  of  being  able 
to  carry  on  so  much  of  conversation.  About  all  that  he  now 
requires  is  to  come  to  terms  on  the  price.  The  owner  wants 
three  francs.  The  purchaser,  if  he  is  wise,  has  priced  the 
same  article  in  two  or  three  other  places,  or  learned  from 
some  fellow-traveler  or  dragoman  the  amount  which  really 
ought  to  be  paid,  which  is  probably  a  franc  and  a  half,  so  he 
offers  a  franc.  Then  tin-  owner  dinn'nishes  his  price  t<i  two 
francs,  vowing  all  the  time  that  he  is  suffering  great  financial 
loss:  and  thr  purchaser  <livides  the  difference.  The  most 
effectual  way  is  for  the  tourist  to  take  out  of  his  pocket  the 
sum  which   he  is  willing  to  pay,  and   lay  it  upon  the  counter. 


^n)         I'm-  oil)  \v(^Ki.n  IN    III!"  \i:\v  cen'itkn" 

The  propriet(->r  w  ill  cither  take  it  or  refuse  it.  This  whole 
transaction  ni.i\-  he  acconiplisheil  without  the  purchaser's 
knowing;-  a  word  in  any  language  save  the  Kngiish,  and  he  is 
ijuite  as  likely  not  to  be  swindled  as  if  he  understood  and 
believed  all  the  owner  claims  for  the  article.  This  is  not 
(]uite  the  way  one  likes  to  ilo  business,  but  it  is  the  way  in 
which  business  is  done  in  the  (Orient.  He  who  would  pay 
the  full  price  demanded  would  be  even  worse  swindled  than 
he  often  is  when  he  pays  a  third  or  half.  Still,  it  is  true  that 
not  every  Oriental  salesman  is  a  swindler,  and  one  will  find  it 
to  his  advantage  not  to  be  too  suspicious  as  well  as  not  to  be 
too  credulous. 

I  am  not  seeking  to  discourage  any  one  who  is  disposed 
to  learn  foreign  languages.  A  few  Arabic  phrases  will  do  no 
harm,  and  a  little  French  is  a  convenience,  but  neither  of 
these  is  strictly  necessary.  One  may  make  the  tour  of  the 
Mediterranean  and  come  back  having  used  only  the  English 
language,  and  not  be  conscious  of  having  suffered  any  great 
loss  of  pride  or  of  pleasure  by  his  ignorance.  The  time  is 
surely  coming  when  the  English  language  is  to  be  in  common 
use  in  all  the  important  Oriental  centers,  and  even  now  it  is 
far  from  being  infrequent. 

Humorous  stories  are  often  told  of  those  who  attempt  to 
use  the  foreign  languages  abroad.  One  of  the  ladies  of  our 
party  meeting  a  nun  at  Funchal,  and  being  unable  to  talk 
Portuguese,  tried  French.  The  efTort  was  not  wholly  a  suc- 
cess, for  the  nun's  French  and  hers  were  about  on  a  par. 
With  a  sudden  thought  she  asked,  "Do  you  speak  English?" 
and  the  nun  replied,  "Why,  bless  me,  yes;  I  am  English!" 
And  so  the  conversation  got  on  better. 

I  heard  another  story  of  an  American  in  an  Italian  city, 
who  had  laboriously  committed  to  memory  a  few  phrases  in 
several  languages.  Meeting  a  man  carrying  a  basket  of 
oranges,  he  asked  him  in  Italian,  "How  much?"  but  the 
stranger  made  no  reply.  He  then  asked  the  question  in 
French,  with  like  result.  Then  he  tried  in  German,  and  at 
last  asked   it  in   Spanish.      As  the  owner  of  the  oranges   still 


RAPID   TRANSIT    IN   THE   ORIENT  31  ^ 

maintained  silence,  he  thus  meditated  aloud:  "He  is  not 
Italian;  he  is  not  German:  he  is  not  French;  he  is  not  Span- 
ish; I  wonder  A\hat  he  can  be?"  to  which  the  man  with  the 
basket  repHed :  "I  am  an  American  citizen,  and  I  am  taking 
these  oranges  to  the  hotel  to  my  family.  Now  who  are  you, 
and  what  in  the  name  of  common  sense  are  you  jabbering 
about?" 

All  such  illustrations  show  the  truth  that,  while  other  lan- 
guages have  their  value,  English  is  far  from  being  useless  in 
foreign  lands. 

At  Smyrna  one  of  our  ladies  stopped  before  a  confection- 
er's shop,  Avhere  the  proprietor  was  engaged  in  preparing  for 
shipment  a  box  of  Turkish  Delight.  He  had  to  do  his  work 
in  the  street,  for  the  shop  had  neither  room  to  nail  a  box  nor 
swing  a  cat.  She  was  interested  to  learn  where  he  was  send- 
ing the  candy,  and  waited  while  he  prepared  his  marking 
brush.  As  he  was  slow  about  it,  she  asked  him,  "Where  are 
you  shipping  the  box?"  He  did  not  reph-,  aiul  she  asked, 
''Do  you  speak  English?" 

He  looked  up  with  a  disdainful  look,  and  holding  his 
marking  brush  aloft  with  a  contemptuous  gesture,  said: 

"I  spik  ze  London  English;  I  do  not  spik  ze  Hamer-r-i- 
can  1 

I  may  remark,  in  passing,  about  the  kind  of  money  which 
the  tourist  may  use  to  advantage.  United  States  gold  will  go 
anywhere,  but  in  countries  where  the  values  are  merely 
approximated,  five  dollars  in  gold  has  only  the  purchasing 
value  of  an  English  pound,  so  that  there  is  a  small  loss  in  the 
use  of  American  gold.  It  is  also  wasteful  to  use  .Vmcrican 
silver,  and  it  is  less  acceptable  than  the  gold.  The  value  of 
a  given  sum  can  quickly  be  reduced  to  dollars:  hut  in  pay- 
ment, I^nglish  money  \\  ill  be  accepted  (|uite  as  readily,  anti 
effect  a  small  saving  to  the  American  tourist. 

Not  only  so,  but  l-'rcncli  money  goes  cjuite  as  well  as  Eng- 
lish in  I'alestine,  and  being  in  lower  denominations  will  i)ur- 
chase  more.  In  \'ery  many  places  a  napoleon  will  buy  as 
much  as  a  sovereign,  and   a  franc  is  as  good  as  a  shilling.      It 


3>-'         Till'  oi  n  \V(^Ki  11  IN  'I'lii:  \m:\v  ckni'I'ry 

is  well,  tliorct'orc,  iov  a  tourist  to  supply  himself  with  some 
Eniilish  auil  uiore  I'^ench  mone5^ 

The  nearest  thing  to  uni\-ersal  coinage  which  we  have  yet 
is  the  American  Express  Company's  checks.  If  these  are 
drawn  in  ten-dollar  denominations,  they  can  be  used  almost 
an\whcre.  The  hotels  and  larger  stores  receive  them  in  pay- 
ment of  hills  without  discount,  but  where  they  are  cashed 
otherwise,  they  suffer  the  same  discount  as  American  money, 
the  ten-dollar  check  yielding  two  pounds.  This  loss,  how- 
ever, can  almost  always  be  avoided  by  a  little  foresight  as  to 
the  time  and  place  of  cashing. 

Money  will  never  be  very  plenty  in  Palestine  while  the 
Turkish  government  continues  to  rule  there.  The  rate  of 
taxation  is  supposed  to  be  about  ten  per  cent,  but  it  some- 
times rises  to  twenty-five  or  even  forty  per  cent.  There  are 
four  forms  of  land  tenure:  crown  lands,  religious  holdings, 
royal  grants,  and  freehold  property.  The  first  embraces 
most,  and  the  best,  of  the  land.  A  farmer  pays  heavily  for 
the  right  to  till  the  soil.  When  harvest  comes,  the  govern- 
ment first  gets  its  share,  which  is  heavily  increased  by  the 
added  demands  of  the  tax-gatherer  himself;  after  that,  the 
owner  or  tenant  gets  what  he  may.  Fruit  trees  are  so  heavily 
taxed  that  many  owners  of  trees  have  cut  them  down  to  escape 
by  so  much  the  rapacity  of  the  government.  This  is  one 
great  cause  of  the  sterility  of  the  land.  While  it  does  not 
seem  possible  that  this  land  can  ever  have  sustained  a  large 
population,  it  has  been,  and  might  again  become,  considerably 
more  fertile  than  it  is  to-day.  I  do  not  expect  for  it  any 
great  industrial  or  commercial  future;  but  something  vastly 
better  than  now  prevails  may  yet  come  to  it.  What  it  needs 
is  this:  better  government,  better  roads,  better  schools,  more 
cleanliness  and  regard  for  the  laws  of  health,  less  dreaming 
and  theorizing,  anrl  more  practical  Christianity. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

EGYPT,    THE    LAND    0¥   THE    SPHINX 

The  most  important  equipments  for  a  tour  of  Palestine  arc 
physical  endurance  and  a  pocket  Bible;  the  first  requisite  for 
sight-seeing  in  Egypt  is  a  dress  suit.  In  Palestine  you  rise 
at  five,  breakfast  at  half-past,  and  start  at  six  for  a  long  day's 
hard  work.  In  Egypt  you  start  at  ten  for  a  leisurely  drive 
among  the  ruins,  or  mount  a  donkey  for  a  two-hours'  canter 
to  the  tombs;  and  after  luncheon  and  a  chat  on  the  veranda, 
visit  the  bazaars  in  quest  of  scarabs  and  picture  postals,  and 
return  to  the  hotel  for  four-o'clock  tea,  and  then  watch  the 
snake-charmers  on  the  veranda  until  it  is  time  to  dress  for 
dinner.  Sight-seeing  in  Palestine  is  strenuous;  in  Egypt  it  is 
social.  The  sights  in  Egypt  all  lie  near  the  Nile,  and  are 
readily  accessible  by  rail  or  boat ;  but  those  in  Palestine  lie 
far  in  the  interior,  and  are  reached  by  industrious,  and  almost 
perilous,  riding  over  indescribable  roads.  In  Egypt  one  has 
sleeping-cars,  and  a  table-d'hote  dinner  waiting  at  his  destina- 
tion; in  Palestine  he  endures  hardness  as  a  good  soldier, 
sleeps  in  tents,  and  finds  the  hotel  at  the  end  of  his  route 
plain  and  bare,  but  usually  comfortable,  a  befitting  provision 
for  arduous  pilgrims.  When  a  company  of  tourists  divides, 
half  going  to  Palestine  and  the  other  half  to  Egypt,  and 
comes  together  again  on  the  ship,  you  can  tell  to  which  party 
an  individual  belongs  as  far  as  you  can  sec  him  on  the  deck. 
The  one  group  looks  sleek  and  well  fetl  and  wears  scarabs  and 
Nubian  beads;  the  other  has  a  nine-fold  coat  of  tan,  a  sun- 
burnt nose,  clothing  faded,  armor  dented  in  the  fray,  and  a 
general  air  of  subdued  triumph. 

The  C'eltic  made  two  trips  between  Jaffa  and  Alexandria. 
a  week  apart.  The  pilgrims  who  cf)mposed  the  second  and 
smaller   section    were    those    who    spent    tin-    longer   time    in 

3'3 


31}         TiiK  oi  n  \V(M^i.ii  i\    I111-:  \i:w  c'l'.X'rrm' 

ralcstiiic.  ami  tlicsc  w  imi>  ctMHiKMisatc-il  Idr  tluir  briefer  stay 
in  Ki;ypt  In-  ha\  in^;'  better  weallier  for  laiuliiiL;'.  Those  who 
composed  the  hist  sectiiMi  stnicl<  a  ht'a\)-  sea,  ami  the  first 
two  hiimlre(,l  who  went  ashore  liad  a  uniciue  experience. 
rhe\-  were  lowered  one  by  one  in  a  cliair  to  the  deck  of  a 
scow  ,  wiiieh  was  towed  ashore  by  a  steam  tug.  It  was  a  very 
slow  and  tedious  process  to  lower  the  passengers  singly  over 
the  side  of  the  ship,  and  consumed  several  hours,  the  scow 
pitching  and  tossing  all  the  time,  until  nearly  every  one  on 
board  was  seasick. 

Steamer  trunks  had  been  lowered  to  the  barge,  and  on 
these  the  passengers  were  expected  to  sit;  but  most  of  them 
moved  the  trunks  end  to  end,  and  used  them  for  bunks.  The 
conductor,  knowing  how  long  the  tourists  must  wait,  and 
desiring  that  they  should  lack  no  comfort,  had  lunches  put  up 
in  neat  pasteboard  boxes,  and  lowered  over  the  side.  Unfor- 
tunately a  wave  upset  this  benevolent  plan,  and  caused  the 
boxes  to  drop  on  deck,  breaking  several  of  them  open.  One 
good  woman  had  lifted  her  head  just  to  see  the  success  of  the 
attempt  to  lower  the  boxes.  When  the  break  occurred, 
several  ham  sandwiches  fell  near  her,  and  opened  like  the 
petals  of  a  rose,  and  three  or  four  boiled  eggs  broke  about 
her  like  a  shower  of  confetti  at  a  wedding.  She  gave  one 
shriek  and  buried  her  face,  and  the  subsequent  proceedings 
interested  her  no  more. 

"The  White  Star  Line  is  about  to  build  another  great 
ship,"  said  one  young  man,  trying  to  keep  up  a  cheerful  con- 
versation. "The  name  must  end  in  the  letters  ic.  They 
want  a  name.      Can  you  suggest  one?" 

"Name  her  the  Seasic,"  came  a  faint  reply. 

It  would  give  me  pleasure  to  say  that  on  this  occasion  all 
the  men  were  heroes.  In  fact,  however,  there  was  little  that 
any  one  could  do  for  another.  But  most  of  them  refrained 
from  adding  to  the  torture  of  their  companions. 

But  there  was  one  man,  a  reformed  elocutionist.  He  had 
broken  away  from  the  awful  past,  and  on  the  ship  had  so 
conducted  himself  as  to  win  confidence  and  esteem.      No  one 


EGYPT,  THE    LAND   OF   THE    SPHINX 


315 


knew  the  secret  of  his  former  habits.  There  had  been  cele- 
brations and  entertainments  on  board,  and  he  had  resisted 
temptation  and  remained  inoffensive.  But  in  that  dread  hour, 
when  he  had  the  passengers  at  his  mercy,  tlie  old  appetite 
returned.      He  secured  a  place  where   he  could   maintain   an 


A    I'lCTURESQUE    LANDlNfi 
Photograph  by  Miss  Anna  M.  Matthews 

erect  position,  and  recited,  "I  am  dyin--,  I-.L,^vpt,  (l\in-!"  lie 
still  lives.  The  passengers  were  too  sick  to  pilch  him  over- 
board. After  that  day  he  resumed  his  former  demeanor,  and 
only  those  present  on  that  occasion  knew  how  the  old  appe- 
tite overcame  him,  and  how  far  he  fell. 

It  was  dark  when  the  loading  was  conipK-U-il.  and  late 
when  the  boat  reached  shore;  and  as  (Hiar.uUine  regulations 
forbade  stopping  in  Alexandria,  the  passengers  had  to  l)e 
taken  by  train  to  Cairo.  Miuli  lime  was  consumed  in  getting 
the  train  readv,  and  the  journey  occupied  all    that  was  left  of 


3i6         rill'  (^i.n  wori  v  in  -nil'  \i:w  ciinitrv 

the  ni^lu.  It  was  an  experience  niorr  pleasant  to  look  hack 
upon  than  to  enjo\-  at  the  time.  Later,  at  a  nieetiny;  on 
hod\\\  the  ship,  the  first  kul\-  antl  o-entlenian  who  went  down 
in  the  chair  were  presentetl  with  medals,  anil  the  latly 
especialK-  was  much  ])raised  lor  her  heroism. 

I  was  a  member  of  the  second  company,  and  it  was  a  fine, 
sunshin\-  morning  when  we  landed.  The  sea  was  reasonably 
calm:  the  barges  pitched  and  tossed  somewhat,  but  few  on 
board  were  sick,  and  these  speedily  recovered  when  we 
reached  land.  Our  train  was  waiting,  and  we  were  soon 
placed  in  our  compartments  ready  for  the  ride  to  Cairo. 

The  first  landmark  sought  out  on  approaching  Alexandria 
is  Pompey's  Pillar,  of  which  every  one  has  heard, 

Pompey's  Pillar  is  the  only  important  ancient  relic  to  be 
seen  in  Alexandria,  and  that  is  not  very  ancient,  as  things  go 
in  Egypt.  Besides,  it  is  wrongly  named.  Nothing  very 
certain  is  known  about  its  history,  except  that  it  is  not  what 
it  was  once  popularly  supposed  to  be,  the  monument  over  the 
tomb  of  Pompey  the  Great..  It  once  bore  a  statue  of  the 
Emperor  Diocletian,  erected  in  302  A.  D.  Its  height,  vari- 
ously given,  is  eighty-eight  feet,  of  which  sixty-eight  feet  are 
in  the  shaft.  Lest  we  despise  Pompey's  Pillar  for  its  new- 
ness and  insignificance,  however,  let  us  remember  that  this 
shaft  of  red  granite  was  brought  here  in  a  single  block  many 
hundreds  of  miles  from  Upper  Egypt,  a  task  which  would  not 
be  despised  by  modern  engineers. 

Except  for  Pompey's  Pillar,  there  is  little  in  Alexandria 
to  interest  the  modern  tourist,  so  we  were  told;  and  as 
Alexandria  was  sour  grapes  for  us,  we  were  willing  to  believe 
it.  We  saw^  little  of  it  save  the  Pillar,  the  wharf,  and  the  rail- 
way station. 

One  thing  at  least  we  must  remember  about  Alexandria, 
that  it  was  a  most  important  seat  of  learning  in  the  early 
Christian  centuries,  and  those  immediately  preceding.  Here 
the  Old  Testament  was  translated  into  Greek  for  "the 
seventy"  nations;  and  so  became  known  as  the  Septuagint. 
This  was    the    Bible   which    the   apostles    used    and    quoted. 


EGYPT,  THE    LAND   OF   THE    SPHINX 


.V7 


Here,  too,  was  that  great  library  whose  loss  is  the  constant 
o-rief  of  scholars.  In  fact,  there  were  three  libraries,  and  all 
were  burned.  The  largest  was  that  consumed  in  Caesar's 
time;  but  the  one  best  known  was  that  destroyed  six  centuries 


"^i^l^-*-; 


"«!.- 


1-().\II'KV  S    ril   I  AK 


later  by  the  Caliph  Omar.  "11  these  writings  agree  with  the 
Koran,  they  are  useless,"  said  that  old  bigot;  "and  if  they 
disagree  with  it,  they  are  pernicious."  So  the  books  went 
iijj  in  smoke.  Perhaps  they  were  not  so  very  valuable,  after 
all.  It  is  better  to  mourn  over  their  loss  than  to  have  trans- 
lated them  and  found  them  commonplace.  There  are  books 
enough  of  that  sort  in  modern  times  without  li,i\-inv;  others 
thrust  ujion  us  from  anti(|uit\'. 


,^iS  nil-:  OLD  woKi.i)  IN    nil    m:\\   ciiniikv 

At  AU'x.uuliia  wo  were  near  Rosctta.  on  one  of  the  mouths 
of  I  he  Nile,  where,  in  1799,  Boussard,  a  iMeiich  engineer, 
while  exo.ivating  near-h\-  at  Fort  St.  jiilien,  thscovered  the 
famous  Rosetta  Stone,  now  in  tlie  l^ritisli  Museum,  which 
provecl  the  key  to  unlock  the  literary  and  liistoric  treasures 
of  the  I^gyptian  inscriptions.  It  is  a  stone  three  feet  nine 
inches  in  height,  by  two  feet  four  and  one-half  inches  in 
width,  and  eleven  inches  in  thickness.  At  the  t(->p  are  part 
of  fourteen  lines  in  hieroL^lyi)hics ;  below  are  thirty-two  lines 
in  another,  and  then  unknown,  species  of  script;  while  at  the 
bottom  are  fift}--four  lines  in  Greek  uncial  letters.  The 
Greek,  which  was  easily  readable,  told  that  the  stone  was  set 
up  in  195  H.  C,  in  honor  of  Ptolemy  Epiphanes,  by  the 
priests  at  Memphis,  on  whose  behalf  he  had  remitted  certain 
taxes.  It  was  soon  conjectured  that  the  other  two  inscrij)- 
tions  contained  the  same  wording,  and  some  years  afterward 
Champollion,  a  French  scholar,  succeeded  in  finding  the  com- 
bination which  made  it  possible  to  read  the  Egyptian  monu- 
ments. It  is  well  to  remember  this  as  we  begin  the  ascent  of 
the  Nile,  and  before  we  look  upon  the  hieroglyphics  them- 
selves, even  though  we  pass  by  Rosetta  itself  as  of  little 
present  interest. 

With  a  real  effort  I  refrain  from  cpioting  the  statement  of 
Herodotus,  that  "Egypt  is  the  gift  of  the  Nile,"  an  omission 
wdiich  should  entitle  this  book  to  distinction.  The  statement 
is  true,  nevertheless.  Whoever  misses  the  quotation  here  can 
find  it  in  almost  any  other  book  on  Egypt,  and  I  make  this 
reference  to  it  simply  to  indicate  that  I  do  not  doubt  it.  The 
Nile  rises  in  the  fertile  interior  of  Africa,  and  flows  through  a 
barren  region.  It  has  a  valley  two  to  fifteen  miles  in  width, 
walled  in  on  both  sides  b}'  the  desert.  Because  of  its  extreme 
narrowness  it  is  common  to  represent  Egypt  on  maps  that  are 
cut  into  two  i;r  three  sections,  and  placed  alongside. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Nile  is  Lower  Egypt,  or  the  Delta. 
The  Delta  is  so  named  from  its  resemblance  to  the  Greek 
letter  J,  which  is  a  triangle,  and  is  made  by  the  numerous 
mouths   of   the   river,  of  which    only  two   are    navigable.      At 


EGYPT,  THE    LAND   OF   THE    SPHINX  319 

the  apex  of  the  Delta  is  Cairo,  one  hundred  and   thirty  miles 
above  Alexandria. 

It  was  a  low,  flat  country  throu-h  which  we  passed  up  the 


.ftSnr^ta;** 


fc-,B.„ritIl^t,"*'-^-*^''-.TS.ir^-.      4^ 


^^:®l5;=;-!t*3Est/-;?rw'jr^rK^T,.v(Vfc;y^r,=7x;rg-,.,i  ■  :•- 


-•>.•-.•'-**  •-■ 


THli    KOSKTTA    STOXK 

I>>eItaor  tlic  Xiic.  but  one  of  <;reat  fcrtilitv.  Tin-  viiia'^'s 
were  composed  of  tumbk-down  mud  huts,  Uiat  looked  a.^  if 
they  would  wash   away  in  the   first  r.un   that  fell    upon    thei 


-•m. 


,^-0  'I'llK    OLD    WORLD    IN     1  1 1 1'.    M.W     Ci:N'l"l'UV 

The  train  nio\-cil  sKnx  ly  for  an  express  tiaiii  with  no  adver- 
tised stops,  and  it  was  two  o'chick  when  we  reached  Cairo. 
We  bes^an  to  iKi  the  town  at  once  w  ith  a  brief  drive  about  the 
city,  stopping;-  for  four-o'cKick  tea  at  the  Grand  Continental 
liotel.  Here  we  found  mail  awaiting-  us,  and  also  the  friends 
from  whom  we  had  been  separated  for  a  fortnii^ht. 

It  is  quite  astonishing  to  find  how  glad  you  are  to  see 
almost  an\-  one  on  shore  whom  you  have  known  on  board  the 
ship.  When  you  get  on  deck  again,  you  care  very  little  for 
each  other;  but  after  you  have  been  separated  for  two  weeks 
ami  meet  on  shore  you  are  eager  to  exchange  experiences. 
So  we  found  it  as  we  came  to  the  hotels  in  Cairo,  and  the 
reunion  on  the  veranda  was  merry  with  greetings,  and  thrilling 
with  tales  of  adventure. 

Cairo  is  the  largest  city  in  Africa.  It  has  a  population  of 
nearly  six  hundred  thousand.  A  very  ancient  town  was 
located  here,  but  the  history  of  Cairo  itself  does  not  go  back 
of  the  Middle  Ages.  Its  former  name  was  Babylon,  a  name 
given  it  by  the  Greeks.  It  was  captured  by  the  Arabs  in  640, 
and  made  the  capital,  against  Alexandria,  where  Christian 
influences  were  strong.  It  was  virtually  the  seat  of  the  ca- 
liphate until  15  17,  when  it  was  captured  by  the  Turks.  There 
was  an  Egypt  of  the  Pharaohs,  and  its  cities  were  Memphis  in 
Lower  Egypt  and  Thebes  far  up  the  Nile;  there  was  an 
Egypt  of  the  Ptolemies,  and  its  memories  are  thick  about 
Alexandria;  but  there  was  also  an  Egypt  of  the  Caliphs  and 
the  Mamelukes,  and  there  is  the  nondescript  Egypt  of  to-day: 
and  the  great  city  of  these  is  Cairo. 

In  Egypt  one  begins  to  realize  that  the  hotels  of  Palestine 
are  hardly  up-to-date.  I  presume  they  are  as  good  as  they 
ought  to  be,  considering  the  patronage,  and  ours  were  com- 
fortable, though  not  luxurious;  but  in  Egypt  the  standard  is 
quite  different.  There  are  half  a  dozen  hotels  in  Egypt  that 
are  better  than  anything  of  the  sort  in  Jerusalem.  They  have 
broad  corridors  and  ample  parlors,  besides  great  open  plat- 
forms a  little  above  the  level  of  the  street,  shaded  by  unique 
awnings  made  of  party-colored  cloth,  sewed   together  in  fan- 


EGYPT,  THE    LAND   OF   THE    SPHINX 


?2I 


tastic  Oriental  patterns,  where  people  sit  and  gossip  and  drink 
tea.  To  this  platform  come  the  snake-charmers  and  the 
dancing-  girls,  and  just  below  are  little  boys  who  turn  cart- 
wheels and  look  up  for  bakshish,  and  who  nimbly  dodge  the 
concierge,  an   imposing  functionary  who  paces  up  and  down, 


THE   STREETS   OK    CAIRO 


glorious  in  his  six  feet  of  stature  and  his  yards  of  gold  lace. 
There  is  just  one  thing  in  which  the  Egyptian  hotels  arc 
still  behind  the  time — and  that  they  share  with  all  the  hostel- 
ries  of  luiropc.  including  London — they  are  very  mcagcrly 
equipped  with  elevators.  Shepheard's  in  Cairo  has  a  "lift" 
that  will  lake  u])  three  guests  at  once;  but  guests  arc  dcsirrd  to 
walk  down. 

Cairo  is  the  greatest  winter  resort  on  earth.      It  is  thronged 
with    tourists   and  witli  winter  guests.      Tlic   jjresence  of   the 


,^.'-'         Tin:  oi.i>  woKi.n  IN    rill    m:\\   ci'.xtuky 

hitter  ij^ivc  to  llu-  hotfls  tlu-ii"  liaUil  of  case  aiul  liixui}-,  and 
in."\ko  it  tlillicult  to  secure  an  earU-  hreal^fast.  Hut  it  is  a 
delii^litful  chant^e  from  beini;  wakened  at  fixe  o'eloek  by  the 
hell-mule.  One  may  sit  on  the  veranda  of  Shepheard's  and 
see  the  w  (nld  jj;o  by.  The  tourist  sees  so  many  forms  of  life 
there  assembled  th.it  he  wonilers  \\h}-  he  has  thoui^ht  it  neces- 
sary to  l;o  ainwheie  else.  Me  finds  a  sufficient  reason,  how- 
ever, when  his  first  hotel  bill  comes  in,  and  is  i^lad  if  he  has 
monev  enouiih  left  to  sjet  awav. 

I  have  read  that  the  streets  of  Cairo  are  narrow  and 
crooked.  So  they  are  in  the  old  part.  lUit  the  part  where 
the  tourist  lives  has  wide  streets  and  boulevards,  comfortable 
carriai^es,  and  every  appointment  that  belongs  to  luxury. 
Vou  may  take  a  carriat^e — and  there  is  a  <^reat  man  in  gold 
lace  who  is  ready  to  call  the  carriage  and  see  you  inside — and 
find  almost  an\-thing  in  Cairo;  or,  if  you  prefer,  whatever  you 
want,  save  onl}-  a  few  such  trifles  as  pyramids  and  temples, 
will  be  brought  to  the  hotel,  and  spread  out  before  you  on 
the  veranda. 

We  visited  the  tombs  of  the  Caliphs  and  the  Mamelukes, 
and  took  in  the  various  mosques  of  the  city,  but  these  had 
become  somewhat  obvious.  We  went  to  the  quaint  old 
Coptic  Church,  where  they  say  that  Mary  stayed  while  Jesus 
was  an  infant  in  hLgypt.  A  service  was  in  progress,  and  a 
very  quaint  one  it  was.  The  service  lasts  three  hours,  and  is 
conducted  in  a  weird,  minor  chant  with  responses.  The 
people  are  huddled  inside  a  lattice-work  partition  about  the 
altar,  and  stand,  leaning  on  crutches,  for  there  are  no  chairs, 
and  a  crutch  is  a  relief  in  standing.  We  were  conducted 
about  freely  by  a  priest  or  attendant,  and  shown  the  black- 
ened pictures  of  saints,  which  are  objects  of  veneration,  and 
then  taken  down  to  the  crypt  to  the  shrine  where  the  Virgin 
is  said  to  have  reposed. 

This  old  church  stands  in  a  crowded  part  of  the  town, 
among  quaint  old  houses  A\ith  lattice  windows,  and  is  at  the 
end  of  an  alley  closed  with  a  gate.  An  old  man  opens  this 
gate  with   the  queerest   old  wooden   key  imaginable.      I   hope 


EGYPT,  THE    LAND   OF   THE    SPHINX 


323 


that  this  direction  will  enable  the  reader  to  find  the  place,  for 
it  is  the  best  I  can  give.  But  there  will  be  no  trouble  in  find- 
ing it.      Every  one  goes  there. 

We  then  went   to  the  Isle  of   Roda.      Here   Moses  is  said 
to  have   been  found.      Whether   this   is   true   or   not,  it    is  an 


THE    MINAKKT    OK    KI.-A/.HrK 


interesting  island,  reached  by  a  pole  ferry  from  Cairo.  Here 
one  may  see,  what  later  he  sees  all  along  the  Nile,  the  sakieh, 
or  water-wheel,  for  drawing  water  wilh  camel  or  buffalo.  The 
animal,  blindfolded,  goes  round  and  round,  and  the  water  is 
raised  with  a  wheel,  to  which  are  fastened  earthen  jars.  A 
yet  more  po])ular  means  of  drawing  water  is  the  shadoof,  or 
well-sweep,  at  which  men  W(m1<  all  day  long,  ai)parenlK-  ne\er 
stopping.  This  water  is  <lra\\n  for  irrigating  purp<.srs,  and 
is  emptied  at  once  into  ditches  on  a  higher  K  vd.  1  here  are 
thousands  of  them  in  Iv^\-pt ;    1  mention  the  ni  in  this  connec- 


o— t 


rill-:    OLD    WORLD    IN     riD.    M.W     Ll  XllUV 


tion  because   hero  one  is  first    lil<rly  to  sec  the  siil<ieh  close  at 
lianil  ami  in  operation. 

On   this   island  is  the   nilonieter.  where  the  Nile  has  been 
measured  for  nian\-  centuries.      As   the   overflow  of   the   ri\cr 


THE   OLD   COPTIC    CHURCH 


makes  the  fertility  of  Egypt,  the  height  of  the  overflow  was 
long  made  the  sole  basis  of  the  tax  rate;  and  it  still  is  taken 
into  account.  The  nilometer  is  a  circular  building  with  a 
well  in  the  middle,  in  which  the  water  rises  to  the  level  of  the 
river  outside. 

About  the  ferry  landing  one  sees  women  washing  their 
clothes,  marketmen  freshening  u\)  their  vegetables  that  have 
been  hauled   in  the  hot  sun;   and   scores  of  water-carriers  and 


EGYPT,  THE    LAND   OF   THE    SPHINX 


325 


street-sprinklers.      Some   of    these    remind    one   of    Kipling's 


Gunga  Din : 

The  clothing  that  he  wore, 
It  was  nothing  much  before, 

And  rather  less  than  'arf  o'  that  behind. 

We  saw  several  whose  uniform  consisted  chiefly  in 

A  twisted  kind  of  rag, 
And  a  goatskin  water-bag. 

The  most  interesting  part  of  Cairo  is  the  Muskey,  where 
the  native  bazaars  are  located.  Here  one  may  buy  anything 
that  Egypt  possesses,  from  a  scarab  to  a  mummy  complete. 
The  streets  are  narrow.  One  dismisses  his  carriage  and  goes 
on  foot,  or  hires  a  donkey  and  rides  till  he  sees  something 
interesting.  In  that  case  he  should  ride  past  to  the  next 
corner,  and  leave  his  donkey  boy  and  come  back  alone.  The 
donkey  boy  is  not  a  help,  and  the  dragoman  is  a  hindrance, 
in  making  purchases. 

It  is  pleasant  to  find  how  ready  the  proprietors  arc  to  trust 
a  "Frank."  A  friend  who  was  with  me  wanted  a  pair  of 
gold  sleeve-buttons  with  mounted  scarabs.      A  pair  was  offered 


nil     SAKIKII 


3-^> 


rin    oi.i)  woKi.n  i\    iiii'  \i  \v  ciixiTin' 


him  lor  oii^litcon  tl(>ll.irs.  Ilr  jiKiposctl  to  tixkc  tin-  pair  with 
him  l(M'  tlic  attcrnoou,  .iiul  compari'  it  with  othc-rs  that  he 
mii^ht  sec.  The  propiictor  cheerfully  consentetl,  aiul  he  took 
them  alont;".  not  lea\-inL;  his  name  or  any  (lei)c^sit.  lie  IkuI  a 
hartl  time  later  in  the  ila\-  in  tnulini;  the  shop  from  which  he 
hail  taken  them. 

One    ma)'    buy    in    L'airo    for   ten    to    twenty    dollars,    and 
openly,    what    they    offer    him    in    Constantinople   with    threat 


THE    XII.OMETER,    ISLE    OF    RODA 


secrecy  at  four  times  the  price,  a  manuscript  copy  of  the 
Koran.  Here,  too,  he  may  buy  a  presumably  genuine 
Damascus  sword.  The  genuine  old  blades  are  rare.  The 
local  test  is  the  sword's  ability  to  "eat  gold"  ;  that  is,  one  is 
to  rub  a  gold  coin  up  and  down  the  blade,  and  if  the  wavy 
lines  of  the  tempered  steel  scrape  off  a  little  of  the  gold,  and 
it  shows  in  the  lines,  the  process  of  tempering  has  been  that 
which  the  ancients  employed.  Of  tlie  process  of  imparting 
these  wavy  lines,  Sir  I'rederick  Pollock  says,  in  his  article  on 
Swords,  in  the  Hritannica: 

The   "damascening," or  "watering,"  of  choice  Persian  and  hidian  arms 
is  not  a  secret  of  workmanship,  but  is  due  to  the  peculiar  manner  of  making 


EGYPT,  THE    LAND   OE    THE    SPHINX 


327 


the  Indian  steel  itself,  in  wliich  a  crystallizing  process  is  set  up;  when 
metal  of  this  texture  is  forged  out,  the  result  is  a  more  or  less  regular  wavy 
pattern  running  through  it.  Xo  difference  is  made  by  this  in  the  practical 
qualities  of  the  blade. 

From  Cairo  one  may  easily  visit  Memphis,  the  famotis  old 
capital  of  Lower  Egypt.      The  site  is  near  Redrashen,  twenty 


"A    TWISTED    KIM)    OF    KAG,    AND    A    (iOATSKIN    WA11:K-BAG" 


miles  up  the  Nile.  That  city  and  Sakharh.  with  its  intercst- 
in.fT  step-p}'ramid,  may  be  visited  in  a  single  day  from  Cairo, 
the  hotel  putting  up  luncheon  to  take  along. 

I  deeply  regretted  that  the  shortness  of  our  timr  ditl  not 
permit  a  visit  to  the  exhumed  treasure  city  of  rithoin,  in  the 
land  of  Goshen,  one  of  the  two  cities — the  other  i)eing 
Rameses — constructed  by  the  enforced  labor  of  llu-  Israelites. 
Tile  site  is  eighty  miles  from  Cairo  toward  Sue/.,  in  the  luart 
of  the  fertile  latid  of  ancient  Goshen,  and  has  been  exhunud 
by  Xavillc.      A  singular   fact  of   the  construction  of   this   cit\' 


3-^ 


1111     (U  h    WOK  1.1)    IN     1111      Nl  W     TIN  ITKV 


is.  that  it  srcnis  to  have  been  erected  all  at  once,  or  nearly  so, 
bv  a  great  number  o{  laborers.  The  bottom  courses  of  brick  arc 
made  with  straw;  the  middle  courses  with  chopped  Nile  reeds; 
and  the  upper  courses  are  of  bricks  without  straw — a  mute  wit- 


CAIKO    WATEK-CAKRIERS 


ness  of  the  injustice  that  has  become  proverbial,  and  to  which 
the  Israelites  were  subjected  toward  the  close  of  their  bondage. 
The  great  excursion  from  Cairo  is  that  to  the  Pyramids 
and  Sphinx.  Formerly  it  was  necessary  to  ferry  across  the 
Nile  to  reach  the  Pyramids,  and  this  undertaking  was  the 
more  difficult  because  of  the  depth  of  the  mud  along  the  river, 
making  it  necessary  often  to  go  far  out  of  the  way  for  a  land- 
ing, and  then  to  be  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  the  boatmen. 
But  now  a  fine  bridge  spans  the  ancient  river,  and  the  approach 
to  it  between  majestic  lions  is  most  impressive. 


EGYPT,  THE    LAND   OF   THE    SPHINX 


.^^9 


We  had  our  first  view  of  the  Pyramids  by  moonlight. 
There  is  an  excellent  road,  built  high  above  the  surrounding 
swamps,  and  lined  with  cassia-trees.  It  is  said  not  to  be  a 
prudent  thing  to  drive  out  to  Gizeh  after  night  on  account  of 
malaria  and  possible  brigands.  We  escaped  both.  There  is 
something  most  imposing  and  appropriate  in  the  sight  of  these 
great  stone  wedges  in  the  night.      They  belong  to  the  serene 


1;K11J(;K    across   TilK    MI.E,    CAIKo 

and  silent   moonliglu.       They  are   at  home    in  the  silence   and 
dimness  rather  than  in  the  fierce  glare  of  the  desert  sun. 

If  we  were  glad  to  go  out  by  night,  nuicli  more  so  was 
our  driver.  It  gave  him  an  excellent  chance  to  steal  uncured 
hay  from  the  carts  along  the  road.  The  drivers  who  took  us 
out  in  the  daytime,  having  no  chance  to  prey  upon  hay-wag- 
ons, had  no  alternative  but  to  prey  on  us.  While  (Mir  driver 
was  stealing  the  great  armfuls  of  grass,  and  treading  th.iu 
down  before  his  scat,  he  was  not  asking  us  for  bakshish. 

Along  the  roatl  as  we  journeyed,  hnndn-ds  of  Moslems  were 
.sleeping.  It  was  the  season  when  the}-  visit  the  graves  of 
their  ancestors,  and  sleep  in  the  open  air.  We  had  seen  them 
about  Cairo   in  the  daytime,  engaged    in  tlu-ir  v.ui(Mis  ()bser\- 


rni'.  OLD  \\oiv:i.i)  IN    mi.  m:\\   <ji:nh  r\ 


aiiccs;   aiul    wo   s.iw    thi-ii"   wixi-s,  jdltiii^'   about    on    springless 

carts.    p,oin;4    to    some    apitointcil    shaic    in    the   anniversary. 

Whether  each  cart-l(xul  hehini^etl  to  one  man,   1  am  not  sure. 

riie   women    were    closeK-  x'eiled.  and    eacli    had    the    pecuHar 


AN    EGYPTIAN    WOMAN 


nose-ornament,    composed    of    a    cylinder   with    three    small 
serrated  wheels  upon  it,  holding  up  the  veil. 

Wherever  we  went  among  the  Moslems,  they  were  observ- 
ing some  festival.  Just  at  this  time,  the  Mohammedan  new^ 
year,  the  holy  carpet  was  starting  on  its  overland  journey  on 
the  back  of  a  camel  to  Mecca.  In  consequence,  the  Gizeh 
Museum,  being  a  government  institution,  was  closed.  It  was 
a  great  sorrow  not  to  be  able  to  go  there  and  see  my  old 
acquaintance  Rameses  II.  There  is  no  face  in  all  Egypt  that 
I  should   have  recognized   so  surely.      He   occupies  an   apart- 


EGYPT,  THE    LAND  OF   THE    SPHINX 


331 


meat  now  at  the  Gizch  Museum,  havini,^  moved  down  the 
Nile  since  Cairo  became  so  popular  a  resort.  I  should  cer- 
tainly have  called  at  his  flat  had  he  been  receiving  visitors.  I 
drove  past  the  museum  several  times,  and  was  pained  to  see 
its  doors  fast  closed.  It  is  not  necessary  to  drive,  however. 
One  may  go  from  Cairo  to  the  Pyramids  by  trolley.  Think 
of  it!  It  is  enough  to  make  the  mummy  of  Rameses  II. 
start  from  his  place  in  the  museum  and  forbid  the  innovation. 


rill-,    KOAI)    TO    TUI-:    I'VKAMinS 

Rameses  was  a  man  in  his  own  day  great  enough  t-.  have 
dared  to  talk  to  the  moiorm;m. 

We  saw  mummies  enough,  in  all  conscience,  and  places 
where  mummies  had  been,  and  all  mummies  look  alike  to  me; 
but  there  is  a  difference  in  rank  and  dignity,  even  among 
people  who  have  been  dead  for  m.)iv  iliau  time  thousand 
years,  and  we  wanted   to  .see  the   Pharaoh   of  the  oppression. 

We  came  again  to  the  Pyramids  early  in  the  morning, 
that  is,  early  as  things  go  in  Ivgypt.  th.)ugh  in  TaK^.tine  it 
would  have  been  near  the  mi.ldle  of  the  foreno..n.  There 
were  only  a  half-do/en  of  us.  ami  we  were  l)esieged  l)\-  a 
crowd  of  guides.       We  assured  all  thesr  that  we  could  find  the 


^^2         -rill'  oi  n  woKi.n  in    iiii    m:w  ci^.ntukv 

Pyrainiils  without  any  help,  .uul  only  wantctl  a  ticket  apiece 
to  go  to  the  top.  We  bought  our  tickets  at  .ihout  a  half-dolUir 
each,  at  the  Httle  go\-ernnieiit  bootli,  which  bore  a  large  sign 
above  the  ticket-\\iiultn\  stating  that  guides  are  not  permitted 
to  ask  gratuities.  It  was  the  first  sign  (if  the  kind  that  we 
had  seen  in  the  Orient,  and  in  (^ur  ignorance  and  gratitude 
we  foolishly  reposed  contulence  in  it,  and  did  not  drive  off  by 
force  of  arms  the  highwayman  w  ho  undertook  to  care  for  us. 
He  proved  to  be  a  positive  ami  unmitigated  nuisance.  He 
forced  upon  us  three  helpers  each,  when  we  wanted  only  two, 
and  gave  us  the  most  wearisome  and  inadequate  description 
of  the  Pyramids  as  he  walked  with  us  across  the  strip  of  sand 
to  the  foot  of  the  first  and  largest  pyramid.  Here  we  thanked 
him,  and  told  him  that  we  did  not  want  him;  but  while  he  was 
in  our  way,  he  was  nevertheless  so  courteous  and  so  unmistak- 
ably interested  in  our  welfare,  and  it  seemed  so  good  to  know 
in  advance  that  he  would  not  ask  a  gratuity,  that  we  tolerated 
him.  He  saw  us  to  the  foot  of  the  Pyramid,  and  told  us  that 
he  would  await  our  descent. 

We  stopped  a  moment  at  the  base  and  gave  some  direc 
tions  to  the  men  who  were  to  help  us  climb.  We  were  in  no 
hurry,  and  did  not  intend  to  run  any  race  for  the  summit. 
We  proposed  to  go  slowly,  and  as  slowly  as  we  pleased.  We 
wanted  to  be  helped  upward  by  steady  pulls  and  not  by  jerks, 
and  to  stop  to  rest  whenever  we  cared  to.  We  had  learned 
enough  from  those  who  had  preceded  us  to  read  this  little 
lecture  at  the  outset  and  to  couple  with  it  the  declaration  that 
we  would  pay  no  bakshish  unless  these  conditions  were  adhered 
to.      The  admonition  was  reasonably  effective. 

The  great  Pyramid  of  Kheops  looks  very  high  when  you 
stand  just  at  its  base.  It  looks  considerably  higher  when  you 
are  half-way  up  the  slope.  We  did  not  find  the  ascent  as 
fatiguing  as  it  had  been  represented,  chiefly  owing,  I  think, 
to  the  way  in  which  we  made  the  climb. 

Kheops  is  451  feet  high,  and  rises  at  an  angle  of  51°  and 
50'  .  Therefore,  in  climbing  it,  one  goes  up  faster  than  he 
goes  forward,  and   from  an  elevation   the  angle   appears  to  be 


EGYPT,  THE    LAND   OF   THE    SPHINX  333 

even  more  acute  than  it  really  is.  The  large  stones  have  an 
average  thickness  of  perhaps  three  feet,  but  some  of  them  are 
thicker.  Two  Arabs,  holding  your  hands,  scramble  onto  the 
ledge  above  you  and  pull  )'ou  up,  w  hile  the  third  man  behind 
pushes.  The  secret  of  an  easy  ascent  is  to  compel  them  to 
wait  until  you  have  placed  your  foot  upon  the  stone  above 
before  they  begin   to  pull ;   otherwise  they  rack  you  until  you 


EGYPTIAN   VILLAGE   NEAR   THE    I'VRAMIDS 
Photograph  by  Miss  Anna  M.  Matthews 

are  lame  and  sore.  Half-way  up  they  stop  and  begin  to  beg 
for  bakshish.  They  are  so  accustomed  to  this  that  I  think 
they  would  do  it  if  they  had  been  warned  that  they  would  be 
shot.  When  I  reminded  them  of  our  contract,  tlu\-  rei)lir(I 
that  they  knew  the  agreement,  but  that  one  o(  the  hulics  in 
the  party  had  already  given  bakshish  to  her  men  (how  they 
found  it  out  I  could  not  imagine,  as  we  were  some  distance 
from  her;  but  they  told  the  truth),  and  that  both  they  and  I 
would  suffer  in  the  estimation  <>f  their  companions  if  I  was 
not  as  liberal  as  she  had  been.  This  argument  was  made  in 
the  most  insinuating  manner  [possible,  but  it  did  not  move 
me;   nor  was   I  induced    lo    buy  bogus   scarabs   and  worthless 


331  I'ni'.  OLD  woKi.n  IN    nil    m:\\    ci-.Nirm 

copper  ctuiis  as  sou\  I'liirs  of  thr  phut'.  In  all  this  I  was  a 
L^rcat  disappoint  iiKMit  to  tlu'  tluxt-  iiumi  who  hclpi-d  mc  up, 
and  o\'cn  tlu'  wat(.M-l)o\-,  wlio  r.iii  aloni;'  against  my  protest, 
looked  at  UK-  leproachl'ully. 

Two-thirds  of  the  way  up  one  of  the  Arabs  said  to  me: 

"  T  Mark  Twain." 

"Oh.  are  )-ou?"  said  I,  "I  liavi;  lieard  of  liim  before;  wc 
are  fellow-countrymen. 

lie  proceetletl  to  exj^lain  that  he  was  not  the  Mark  Twain 
of  whom  I  had  heard,  but  that  he  had  inherited  the  name 
through  his  ability  to  perform  the  feat  which  Mark  Twain 
describes  in  "Innocents  Abroad":  that  he  was  the  grandson 
of  the  man  who  helped  Mark  up  the  pyramid  and  who  ran 
dew  n  the  side  of  one  pyramid  and  to  the  top  of  the  next  in 
eight  minutes.  I  had  read  the  story,  but  I  let  him  tell  it  to 
me,  and  I  fell  visibly  in  his  good  opinion  because  I  did  not 
instantly  show  enthusiasm  over  what  he  had  to  relate.  He 
tokl  me  mine  would  be  the  privilege  of  seeing  him  run  down 
the  slope  of  Kheops  and  up  the  side  of  Khefrem  in  less  than 
ten  minutes.  I  told  him  I  had  no  tloubt  that  he  could  do 
what  he  said,  for  I  had  read  Mark  Twain's  book,  and  knew 
Mr,  Twain  to  be  a  truthful  man.  Then  he  tried  to  make  me 
doubt  that  he  could  do  it,  all  the  time  strongly  asserting  his 
ability  so  to  do.  It  was  a  shrewd  sort  of  logic  which  he 
employed,  but  it  did  not  affect  me  in  the  least.  It  was 
enough  for  me  that  Mr.  Twain  had  seen  it  done,  and  1  was 
quite  as  well  satisfied  un'th  his  testimony  as  if  I  had  witnessed 
the  feat  myself.  However,  when  we  got  to  the  top,  he  began 
to  strip,  the  others  abetting  liim,  ami  doing  their  best  to  get 
my  companions  to  wager  on  the  result;  but  none  of  us  were 
disposed  to  risk  our  money  on  a  sure  proposition,  and  all  of 
us  were  interested  in  seeing  how  they  were  affected  by  our 
perfect  willingness  to  believe  them.  They  did  their  best  to 
make  us  incredulous.  They  described  the  difficulties  of  the 
undertaking.  To  be  sure  he  had  often  done  it,  but  possibly 
this  time  he  could  not.  The_\'  invited  us  to  see  how  far  it 
was,  and   how   steep   the   other  pyramid.      Moreover,    as  the 


EGYPT,  THE    LAND   OF   THE    SPHINX 


335 


covering  still  remained  near  the  summit  of  the  smaller  pyra- 
mid,  it  was  apparently  much  more  difficult  to  ascend  than 
Kheops.  I  rejoice  to  state  that  we  triumphed  over  their 
importunities,  and  also  that  we  did  it  with  a  dignity  and 
indifference    that    quite    dismayed    them.      We   put    it    on    a 


CLI.\I1!1N(;    THE    I'Vl^AMIDS 

f^round  which   they  could   not  easily  fail   to   appreciate      We 

could    not    doubt    llu.-ir    truthfulness.      If    tlu\     .ill    uiiitc-d    in 

affirmin<,f   that    this   Arab,    Mark   Twain,    could    perform    this 

feat,  we  knew   it  must  be  true. 

It  was  really  pathetic  to  see  their  disappointnu-nt .      As  we 

began  the  descent,  the  crestfallen  native  said  to  me: 
"You  make  Mark  Twain  feel  very  bad  to-day." 
I  assured    him   that    1  had    been    endeavoring  with    all    my 

might  to  make  him   happy,  and  that  1  was  (piite   unwilling  to 

see  him  risk  his  life. 


I'll!     Ol.n    WOKI.lt    IN     rill.    M.W     Cl'-NITKN' 


■"Hut,"  lie  said,  "I   want  to  do  it." 

"Oh.  well,"  said  1.  "you  may  s;"0  hack  ami  make  the  run 
after  _\mu  have  helped  me  down,  .nul  while  I  i;o  over  to  the 
Sphinx. " 

"Hut  I  want  you  to  see  it."  he  said. 

"I  tlo  not  care  to  see  it,"  I  said.  "I  do  not  doubt  your 
truthfulness. " 


SECTION    OF   THE    GREAT    VYKAMID 

The  lazy  fellow  knew  just  how  to  render  the  least  possible 
assistance  in  the  descent,  under  pretense  of  doing  his  duty. 
He  had  a  way  of  turning  his  hand  back  over  his  shoulder  so 
as  to  make  it  quite  impossible  for  me  to  use  the  shoulder 
itself  in  springing  down  from  rock  to  rock.  At  one  place 
where  the  ledge  was  rather  narrow,  T  inadvertently  jumped 
against  his  hand,  as  I  would  not  have  done  had  he  not  been 
shirking.  His  thumb  cracked,  and  he  drew  it  into  place 
with  a  snap.  I  feared  that  I  had  really  dislocated  it,  and 
expected  a  damage  suit,  but  justice  compels  me  to  state  that 
he  did  not  make  the  injury,  real  or  fancied,  the  occasion  of 
any  excessive  extortion.      I  was  not  quite  certain  whether  it 


EGYPT,  THE    LAND    OF    THE    SPHINX 


337 


was  a  trick  or  not,  but  I  was  sure  that  if  I  had  hurt  him  it  was 
entirely  his  own  fault. 

The  Pyramids  of  Gizeh  face  the  four  cardinal  points 
exactly,  and  the  well  of  the  Great  Pyramid  looks  straight 
toward  the  north  star,  both  in  the  angle  of  descent  and  in  its 
line  with  the  compass.  One  may  explore  the  interior  with- 
out great   difificulty.      We  went   only  a  little  distance  in,  and 


Till-.    SI'HINX    NO    L()N(iEK    HAS    A    SKCKKT 
Photograph  by  Miss  Anna  M.  Matthews 

sent  one  of  our  helpers  down  to  make  a  bright  liglit  in  the 
chamber  below.  As  usual,  two  of  thcni  went  down,  lliough 
wc  repeatedly  called  to  one  to  come  back,  and  each  demanded 
a  shilling  for  the  descent.  The  plan  of  the  p\  lamid  is  well 
shown  on  the  accompanying  diagram. 

I  |)ai(l  all  three  of  the  men.  though  I  ha<l  hired  onl)-  two 
of  them,  and  also  paid  the  water-boy,  who  hail  gone  up  against 
my  i)rotest,  and  from  whose  water-jug  I  would  on  no  occa- 
sion   have  drunk.      Tlien    came   the   guide    to  show  us   to    tin 


;;S  nil    OLD  woKi.D  IN    iiii;  M.W   ci-.Niim 

Sphinx.  Ai^ain  wo  tiitnl  to  riil  ourselves  of  this  polite  nui- 
sance, not  to  save  ourselves  money — for  we  supposed  his  ser- 
vices to  be  free — but  solely  because  he  was  worse  than  useless 

to  Uy^. 

We  hired  ilroniedaries,  for  the  ride  from  the  Pyramid 
to  the  Sphinx,  wliile  short,  was  fatiguing-;  and  our  guide 
ran  along  beside  us.  He  took  us  out  of  the  way  to  show 
us  the  remains  of  the  old  stone  temple  which  we  did  not  at  all 
(.lesire  to  see;  but  we  found  the  Sphinx  in  spite  of  him,  for 
indeed  it  would  have  been  ([uite  impossible  not  to  have 
found  it.  It  is  an  immense  statue  of  a  lion  couchant, 
with  the  head  of  a  man,  probably  an  early  king  of  Egyi)t,  and 
hewn  out  of  the  solid  rock.  Here  one  of  our  party  recited  a 
little  jingle  which  seemed  to  us  oddly  appropriate,  and  which 
I  learned  afterward  is  from  James  Whitcomb  Riley: 

"I  know  all  about  the  Sphinx; 
I  know  even  what  she  thinks, 
Staring  with  her  stony  eyes 
Up  forever  at  the  skies. 
For  last  night  1  dreamed  that  she 
Told  me  all  tlie  mystery — 
Why,  for  ;eons  mute  she  sat — 
She  was  just  cut  out  for  that!" 

So  indeed,  it  seemed  quite  impossible  that  the  Sphinx  should 
do  anything  else  than  to  keep  silent  and  look  mysterious.  I 
wish  more  people  followed  its  example.  The  Sphinx  is  just 
as  intelligent  as  a  fog-horn,  but  seems  wiser  because  it  is  not 
forever  making  a  noise. 

The  popular  error  concerning  the  secret  of  the  Sphinx 
grows  out  of  the  confusion  of  this  with  the  purely  mythical 
Grecian  sphinx.  She  had  the  body  of  a  winged  lioness  and 
the  head  and  breast  of  a  woman,  and  devoured  all  who  could 
not  answer  her  riddle.  The  riddle  was,  "A  being  with  four 
feet  has  two  feet,  and  three  feet,  and  only  one  voice;  but  its 
feet  vary,  and  when  it  has  most  it  is  weakest."  Any  one  who 
could  not  guess  this  riddle  deserved  to  be  eaten;  for  of  course 
the  answer  was  man,  who  creeps  in  infancy  and  carries  a  staff 
in  old  age.     The  Egyptian  Sphinx  looks  far  too  wise  to  indulge 


EGYPT,  THE    LAND   OF   THE   SPHINX  339 

in    so    frivolous    a    conundrum,    and    too    benevolent    to    eat 
any  one. 

Beside  the  Pyramids  the  Sphinx  seemed  small.  It  is  seventy 
feet  from  the  floor  between  the  paws  to  the  top  of  the  head. 
The  body  is  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  long,  and  the  paws 
protrude  fifty  feet  more.      The  sand  of  the  desert  continually 


'-^iff^ 


EXCAVATINf;     IHi:    SIMIINN 

drifts  ab(Hit  it,  and  necessitates  the  occasion. il  unovcrin-  of 
the  Sphinx.  It  is  hewn  out  of  the  living  rock,  and  has  stood 
there  somewhere  nearly  four  thousand  years.  ilu  re  an-  two 
popular  errors  about  the  Si>liinx:  one  that  it  is  fmiininc.  and 
the  other  that  it  has  a  well-guarded  secret,  two  inntually 
improbable  conjectures.  The  Sphinx  is  undoubtedly  mascu- 
line. If  he  had  a  secret,  we  should  h  i\c  learned  it  ;  for  before 
we  got  away  a  crowd  of  our  people  arrived  on  camels,  and  the 
ladies  quizzed    him    most    enlicingly.      Samson    liiniself  would 


340         rill'  *'i  n  woki.d  in    I'lii:  m'.w  century 

ha\c  tolil  liis  secret  li.ul  [hey  so  teasetl  liiiii.  luit  tlie  Sphinx 
has  iu>  secret;  its  UKMiiiiiL;  is  well  luulcistood.  It  is  the 
itnaL;e  o(  liannaker,  or  Horus,  the  sun-s^ocl — the  L;od  of  the 
(.lead  sun  come  to  life.  It  is  the  inia^e  of  the  morning", 
the  s\nibol  of  hope.  It  stands  expectant  of  a  new  day  after 
eacii  night,  w  hen  the  sun-god  has  gone  to  the  underworld, 
and  is  making  his  journey  through  its  twelve  stages.  As  one 
stands  before  this  god  of  the  rising  sun,  this  open-eyed 
prophet  o(  the  daw  n,  antl  remembers  its  mute  witness  of  the 
unclouded  morning  for  nearly  four  thousand  years,  and  sees 
its  calm,  perpetual  gaze,  still  in  expectation  of  another  sunrise 
and  yet  another,  he  makes  for  himself  a  new  measure  of 
eternity. 

While  we  were  settling  with  our  dromedary  men,  our  guide 
presented  his  claim,  and  it  was  far  from  being  a  modest  one. 
We  told  him  that  right  before  our  very  eyes,  at  the  spot 
where  he  had  imposed  himself  upon  us,  was  a  sign  saying  that 
guides  were  not  permitted  to  ask  gratuities.  He  replied  that 
the  sign  applied  to  authorized  guides,  and  that  he  was  a 
special  guide,  vastly  superior  to  those.  After  all  our  experi- 
ence with  guides,  this  was  a  surprise,  for  while  we  had  not 
doubted  that  he  would  expect  a  bakshish,  we  had  been  com- 
forting ourselves  all  the  way  with  the  memory  of  that  sign, 
and  saying  that  here  was  one  place  where  we  could  not  be 
held  up  for  a  tip;  which  shows  how  much  we  still  had  to  learn 
about  things  in  Egypt. 

"But,"  he  proceeded,  "you  paid  well  the  men  who  helped 
you  up  the  Pyramid." 

"Yes,"  I  said,  "for  they  really  helped  us." 

"And  you  paid  the  dromedary  man  and  gave  him  bakshish 
besides." 

"Yes,  for  I  hired  him." 

"But  your  driver  hired  me,"  he  said. 

"Come  with  me  to  the  carriage,"  said  I,  "and  I  will  find 
out  about  it," 

The  driver  had  gone  to  sleep,  but  I  wakened  him  to  a 
sense  of  his  dutv. 


EGYPT,  THE    LAND    OF    THE    SPHIXX  341 

''Did  you  employ  this  man  to  go  as  guide  for  this  party?" 
I  demanded. 

The  rascal  confessed  it. 

"Then,"  said  I,  "you  maj^  pay  him,  and  you  shall  get 
your  legal  fare,  and  not  a  piastre  more." 

Even  then  the  guide  could  not  believe  that  we  did  not 
mean  to  pay  him.  He  followed  us  to  the  carriage  and  stood 
beside  it.  He  assured  us  that  we  would  be  remembered  by 
the  whole  company  of  guides  as  ungrateful  and  dishonest; 
and  the  driver  abetted  him  by  holding  a  tight  rein  until  we 
actually  compelled  him  to  drive  off. 

We  left  with  a  kind  of  guilty  feeling,  for  such  experiences 
are  not  pleasant,  and  it  is  much  easier  for  one's  peace  of  mind 
to  tip  such  scoundrels  and  let  them  go  without  making  a  scene. 
But  this  time  we  resolved  to  stand  for  our  rights  and  refuse 
to  be  robbed. 

It  has  become  popular  to  advise  people  not  to  ascend  the 
pyramids  because  of  the  excessive  fatigue  attending  the  effort. 
My  advice  is  the  contrary.  It  is  well  worth  the  effort  unless 
one  is  feeble.  I  wearied  of  climbing  long  before  we  had 
ended  our  journey,  and  let  others  ascend  to  cathedral  roofs, 
over  long  and  dingy  stairways.  But  I  would  on  no  account 
have  failed  to  go  to  the  toj)  of  Kheops.  The  climb  is  not 
excessively  wearisome  if  one  keeps  liis  lielpers  in  control. 
The  tourist  must  refuse  to  let  them  lift  till  he  is  ready;  and 
so  perhaps  he  can  keep  them  from  wrenching  his  arms  out  of 
their  sockets. 

Once  on  the  top,  there  is  seen  such  a  contrast  as  nowhere 
else  can  greet  the  eye.  The  elex'ation  is  so  great,  and  the  land 
so  level,  that  one  can  see  for  many  miles.  On  one  side  Hls 
the  fertile  Delta;  on  tin-  other  is  the  barren  desert.  In  this 
direction  is  verdure  antl  life;  in  the  other  stiTiJity  and  death. 
Here  is  activity  and  mox-cment  and  sound;  \onder  is  silence 
and  eternal  inactivit\-.  litre  is  the  city  with  its  commerce 
and  thrift;  there  is  the  waste  of  sand,  slretciiing  on  inter- 
minably. Here  the  un uttered  mes.sage  of  history  may  be 
read  in  the  calm  face  of  the  Sphinx;  yonder  is  the  suggestion 


*»  1   ^ 
.5  }- 


rill',  ni  n  wuKi  1)  IN    1111.  Ni:\\   ci:n  rim- 


aiul  impulse  ;iiul  hope  ff  a  future  yet  unknown,  in  the  river, 
the  raih-oad.  the  city.  Life  and  death,  past  and  future,  the 
worlil  that  has  been  and  tlie  worUl  to  come — one  may  have 
a  vision  oi  them  all  (vom  the  t<ip  of  the  threat  Pyramid  of 
Kheops. 


^?*:S 


m<^~r 


STREET-SPRINKLKR 


CHAPTER  XXII 

UP    THE    NILE 

Many  of  our  party  went  up  the  Nile  to  the  first  cataract. 
Those  who  have  a  fortnii^ht  in  Egypt  can  easily  accompHsh 
this,  "-oincf  to  Luxor  b\-  rail,  and  from  there  to  Assuan  by  boat. 
It  must  be  a  delightful  journey.  But  those  of  us  who  had  the 
horseback  ride  in  Palestine  had  to  be  content  with  a  journey 
to  Thebes,  Luxor,  and  Karnak.  The  railway  is,  completed  to 
Luxor,  which  is  417  miles  above  Cairo  by  rail,  and  about  450 
miles  by  boat,  a  comparatively  slight  difference,  which  shows 
how  straight  a  stream  the  Nile  is.  Hy  boat  Luxor  is  about 
600  miles  above  Alexandria.  Assuan  is  130  miles  above 
Luxor,  and  Philae  is  30  miles  farther.  l-'ew  tourists  go  above 
Phil»,  and  King  Edward  did  not  go  above  Luxor,  though  he 
had  less  reason  than  we  to  economize  time  and  money. 

The  train  leaves  Cairo  toward  the  close  of  the  afternoon, 
and  arrives  in  Luxor  about  the  middle  of  the  next  forenoon. 
There  are  just  six  sleeping-cars  in  all  the  land  of  Egypt,  bu 
they  are  fairly  good  ones.  We  had  four  of  them,  and  they 
were  all  compartment  cars.  Egypt  also  possesses  two  dining- 
cars;  we  had  one  of  them  and  kept  it  very  busy.  There  is 
no  porter  on  an  Eg>pli.in  sleeper,  but  the  conductor  makes 
the  beds,  as  he  does  also  in  I^nglanti.  Wc  passed  a  fairiv 
comfortable  night,  though  the  saiul  sifteil  in  at  the  win- 
dows and  reminded  us  of  the  crossing   of   the   alkali    plains  of 

America. 

As  we  proceeded  on  our  journe}-,  we  passed  near  two  cities 
of  little  interest  in  themselves,  but  of  great  importance  to  the 
archc-eologist,  by  reason  of  recent  and  uniipie  discoveries. 
These  are  Tell  el-Amarna  and  ( )xyrrhynchos.  We  were 
near  Oxyrrhynchos,  whose  mfxU-rn  name  is  Hehnesia.  when 
tin-  train  passed  through    Ikni  Mazar.    123  miles  above  Cairo; 


,M4  Till"  o]^^  wdKi  n  ix    I'lii    Niw   iixrrm' 

aiul  at  IVt  Mauas,  ii)0  miles  troin  C'aiio,  \vc  were  close  by 
Toll  ci-Aniaina  In  the  lattei'  have  been  discoxered  an 
ininuMise  nuniber  of  euneifetrni  tal)lcts  dating'  from  the  a<4'c 
just  ])rccctHn^"  the  ICxodus.  It  is  perhaps  the  most  important 
v)t'  all  tliseox'eries  in  I\L;')'pt,  and  settles  forever  some  once 
vexed  questions  about  the  relatic^is  of  l\L;\'pt  and  Hahx-lon, 
and  the  art  of  writing;'  in  the  time  of  Moses.  Whatever  fool- 
ish assertions  men  may  make  hereafter,  they  will  not  say 
again  that  the  art  of  writing"  was  unknow  n  in  Canaan  in  the 
age  when  the  first  books  of  the  liible  are  supposed  to  have 
been  written.  These  tablets  were  found  in  iS.Sj,  in  the  ruins 
of  tlie  foreign  office  of  tlie  King  Khu-en-Aten,  whose  former 
name  was  Amen-hotep  IV.,  and  who  established  his  capital 
at  this  place  in  opposition  to  the  powerful  priesthood  of 
Thebes,  and  carried  on  his  reaction  against  the  innovations 
of  the  Hyksos,  or  Sheplierd  kings,  and  his  o\\  n  innovation  in 
the  worsliip  of  Aten,  the  god  of  the  sun  disc,  against  that  of 
Amen,  the  chief  deit}-  of  Thebes,  Many  of  the  tablets  are 
reports  from  Palestine,  which  at  this  time  was  an  Egyptian 
province. 

While  we  did  not  sec  Tell  el-Amarna,  we  saw  wliat  was 
better,  many  of  the  tablets  which  have  been  fouiul  there. 
They  are  of  clay,  twu)  inches  to  a  foot  in  length,  and  are 
written  on  both  sides  and  some  of  them  on  the  edges  with  the 
wedge-shaped  letters  similar  to  those  employed  for  seven 
hundred  years  in  Babylonia  and  Assyria.  I  have  secured  an 
illustration  of  two  of  these.  The  larger  one  is  a  letter  from 
Abi-milki,  governor  of  Tyre,  t(^  the  king  of  Egypt,  reporting 
that  he  believes  that  one  Zimiida  of  Sidon  has  caused  much 
hostility  against  Tyre,  has  made  war  on  him,  aiul  is  nr)w 
pressing  him  hard.  He  asks  for  wood  and  water  for  his  city, 
and  for  help  to  protect  it.  He  sends  by  the  messenger  who 
bears  the  tablet  five  talents  of  copj)er  and  other  gifts  for  the 
king  of  Egypt.  He  reports  that  the  king  of  Danuna  is  dead, 
and  that  his  brother  reigns  in  his  stead;  one-half  the  cit\'  of 
Ugarit  has  been  destroyed  by  fire;  tlie  soldiers  of  the  Khatti 
have  departed;    Itagamapairi,  governor  of  Kedesh,  and  i\ziru 


I'P   THE    XILK 


345 


are  fighting   against   Xann-awiza.      All  will   be  well  with  Tyie 
if  the  king  of  Eg}'pt  will  only  send  a  few  troops. 

This  will  serve  as  a  sample  of  the  letters,  which  deal  almost 
exclusively  with  political  affairs.  There  are  three  hundred 
and  twentx'  or  more  of  them,  and  the\-  gi\-e  us  much  informa- 
tion  about  the  political  life  of  Eg\-pt  some  time  before  the 
Exodus,   and   still  more  of  those  countries  then   tributary  to 


A  TELL  EL-AMAKNA  TABLET.      LETTER   l-KOM   THE  (JOVKR.NOK  OF  TVKE 


Egypt.  Egypt  ruled  over  Palestine  and  much  adjacent  terri- 
tory, but  luld  these  provinces  by  slender  cords;  for  man\-  of 
the  governors  report  a  state  of  affairs  bordering  on  anarchy, 
and  call  for  help.  Egypt  was  under  the  innmiicc  of  ihe 
civilization  of  ])abylonia,  as  is  shown  by  the  character  in 
which  these  letters  are  written.  The  discoveiy  of  these 
tablets,  made  in  1SS7  by  a  peasant  woman,  is  regartled  as  tin- 
most  important  of  all  contribntion'>  to  tin-  early  piililical  hi^- 
tor\-  of  western  Asia. 

At  liehnesia,  or  ()xyrrli\  nelio^,  the  discovei  iis  aie  o|  much 
later  date,  and    of  wideK'  tlifferent   charactt  r.       ihis  was  once 


7,\6         Till-:  oi  1^  woKi.i)  IN    iiii'.  m:w  ci:\Ti'uv 

a  citv  o{  (."hiisti.in  priests,  and  was  filKnl  witli  the  seines  and 
the  writini^s  o(  (.'hiistian  monies,  of  whom  in  tlic  fifth  Chris- 
tian ccntur\-  there  are  saiil  to  lia\'e  been  ten  thousand,  besides 
twehe  thousand  nuns  in  the  xMlhiije.  Here  have  been  found 
enoinituis  nu.mtities  of  papyrus,  ihitin;4  from  the  earl}-  Chris- 
tian centuries,  including  personal  letters,  official  documents, 
and  fragments  of  classic  literature.  The  most  interesting  of 
all  is  a  fragment  not  larger  than  the  i)alm  of  one's  hand,  on 
which  are  written  certain  alleged  "sayings"  of  Jesus,  believed 
b\-  ni.un-  scholars  to  have  been  derived  from  sources  earlier 
than  our  written  Gospels.  A  translation  of  these  "logia"  is 
as  tollows : 

1.  .And  lliin  shall  thou  see  clearly  to  cast  mit  the  mote  that  is  in  thy 
lirother's  eye. 

2.  Jesus  saith,  Except  ye  fast  to  tlie  world,  ye  shall  in  nowise  find  the 
kingdom  of  God;  and  except  ye  keep  the  Sabbath,  ye  shall  not  see  tlie 
Father. 

3.  Jesus  saith,  I  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  world,  and  in  the  flesh  was  1 
seen  of  them,  and  I  found  all  men  drunken,  and  none  found  I  athirst  among 
them;  and  my  soul  grieveth  over  the  sons  of  men  because  they  are  blind  in 
their  heart. 

4.     poverty 

5.  Jesus  saith,  Wherever  there  are .and   tliere  is  one         alone,    I 

am  with  him.     Raise  the  stone,  and  there   thou   shalt  find  me.     Cleave  the 
wood,  and  there  1  am. 

6.  Jesus  saith,  A  prophet  is  not  acceptable  in  his  own  country,  neither 
doth  a  physician  work  cures  upon  them  that  know  him. 

7.  Jesus  saith,  A  city  built  upon  the  top  of  a  high  hill  and  stablished 
can  neither  fall  nor  he  hid. 

It  will  be  profitable  for  the  reader  who  has  undertaken  to 
make  the  journey  up  the  Nile  by  means  of  this  book  to  spend 
a  few  minutes  in  reviewing  the  history  of  Egypt.  The  follow- 
ing outline  of  some  of  the  principal  points  down  to  the  close 
of  the  Nineteenth  Dynasty  may  serve  as  a  convenient  epitome. 

Egypt  was  an  old  nation  when  Joseph  was  sold  a  slave. 
It  had  a  history  reaching  back  for  centuries,  and  a  civilization 
the  highest  that  the  world  had  then  attained.  Its  priests  had 
knowledge  of  arts  and  sciences,  of  mathematics  and  astron- 
omy, of  sculpture  and  architecture,  and  its  builders  possessed 
the  skill  in  practical  mechanics  which  .still  causes  the  world  to 


UP   THE   NILE 


o4/ 


marvel.  Egypt  then  had  imposing;  monuniciits  and  a  govern- 
ment of  wealth  and  pow  lt.  Fourteen  d3masties  had  already 
reigned.      The  first  ten  of  these  had  their  capital  at  ^Memphis, 


r.M'NKUS   CONTAINING   "SAVINGS"   OF   JESUS 

near  the  Delta,  and    fmir  had  reigned   at  Thchcs,  six  hundred 
miles  up  the  Nile  from  its  mouth. 

l-^)r  the  lists  of  these  dynasties  we  are  indebted  to  Manetho, 
a  i)riest  of  Lebennytos,  who,  at  the  instance  of  I'tolemy  IMiila- 
delijhus,  translated  into  (jreek  the  inscriptions  on  the  I'.l;\  p- 
tian  temples  which  gave  lists  of  the  kings.  These  he  grouped 
into  thirt}'  dynasties.      The  grounds   for  di\'ision  are  \arial)le, 


34^^         'I'm;  old  world  in    iiii.  m;\\    ei;Niim' 

ho\vc\or.  .iiul  tlu-  chronoloi;)-  is  unccrt.iin,  l)(.-caiisi.-  it  is  not  at 
all  certain  that  soino  of  llu'  ih-n.istics  did  not  ox'crlai),  sonic 
rcii^iiin^  in  Upper  antl  otlicis  in  Lower  IC^^N'pt.  l''or  this 
reason,  and  perliaps  t'or  otliers,  scholars  \ar\'  widel)'  in  their 
reckonini;-  oi  the  time  covered  1)\-  the  earlier  dynasties. 

The  histor\-  of  ancient  EL;ypt  divides  itself  into  the  Old 
Rmpire.  embracing;-  dynasties  one  to  eleven,  beginning  some- 
where from  4000  to  5000  H.  C,  and  coming  down  to  about 
2200  li.  C.  :  the  MitUlle  Empire,  embracing  dynasties  twelve 
to  sixteen,  anil  closing  with  the  expulsion  of  the  Ilyksos,  a 
period  of  six  hundred  years,  from  about  2200  to  1600;  the 
New  Empire,  extending  from  1600  to  about  950,  and  including 
dynasties  seventeen  to  twenty-five;  and  the  later  Egyptian 
period,  from  663  to  ^^2,  including  dynasties  twenty-six  to 
thirty. 

After  this  came  Alexander  the  Great,  with  whom  all  the 
world  had  to  begin  on  a  new  page. 

This  outline,  beginning  more  than  forty  centuries  before 
Christ,  seems  to  take  us  back  far  enough.  lUit  before  this 
remote  beginning  was  a  long  prehistoric  period,  wliich  lasted 
we  know  not  how  man)-  centuries.  What  we  know  is,  that 
when  recorded  history  began,  Egyptian  civilization  was  al- 
ready practically  complete.  The  Egyptians  had  art,  religion, 
literature,  and  a  political  system,  even  in  those  prehistoric 
times,  so  remote  that  we  can  hartlly  even  conjecture  their 
limits  in  years. 

The  nomes,  or  districts,  of  Egypt  naturally  grouped  them- 
selves into  those  of  the  Delta  and  those  along  the  Nile,  and 
so  divided  the  counlr}-  into  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt;  and  the 
kings  who  reigned  over  the  whole  land  are  commonly  repre- 
sented as  wearing  a  double  crown. 

With  this  briefest  possible  outline  in  mind,  we  may  con- 
sider a  little  more  at  length  the  more  important  of  the  periods 
whose  events  fall  in  the  way  of  the  tourist. 

Recorded  Egyptian  history  begins  with  Menes.  Even  in 
his  day  there  was  a  good  state  of  civilization  in  the  Nile 
valley,  but  the  long,  narrow   land  was  divided    Into  forty-two 


IP   THE    NILE 


349 


tribal  divisions,  or  nomes,  a  division  that  had  permanent 
reco<^nition  under  the  various  unions  that  followed.  Only  a 
great  man  could  unite  so  great  a  country,  with  territory  so 
scattered.  Menes  was  the  George  Washington  who  estab- 
lished the  United  States  of  Egypt.      He  is  popularly  referred 


MAI-    <il-     1  UK    MM- 


350 


rill    o\.\)  wouiD  IN  nil    Ni.w  ciinthrv 


to  as  tlu'  toumlcr  oi  Mcinphis,  l)ut  the  first  two  dynasties 
roiq;nccl  at  Ihis,  in  1'i>ih'i-  I-LL;\i>t.  near  the  modrin  El-Hirbeh. 
His  dxnasty  reigned,  according;  to  Hrusch,  from  4400  to  4166 
\\.  C.  hut  tliese  dates  aie  more  (-)r  less  uncertain.  Some 
schohirs  assign  much  earh'er  dates. 

Tlie   Secoml   Dynasty,  which  was   probalily  rehited  to  the 


THE   TEMPLK   OF    LUXOR 


h'irst,  had  nine  kings,  and  reigned  three  liundred  and  two 
years.  The  tombs  of  tiie  kings  of  these  two  dynasties  have 
been  discovered  at  Abydos  and  Nakadeh. 

The  Third  Dynasty  began  with  a  usurpation,  and  con- 
tinued for  two  hundred  and  fourteen  years.  h^'om  the  first 
two  dynasties  we  have  few  if  any  extant  monuments;  but 
with  the  third  we  begin  to  find  memorials,  including  the  step- 
pyramid  of  Sakhara.      This  dynasty  reigned  at  Tliebes. 

The  Fourth   Dynasty  was  that  which   built  the  three  great 
pyramids,  named   for   its   kings,  among   who   were    Kkufu   or 


UP   THE    NILE 


6^> 


Kheops,  Shafra  or  Khefrcn,  and  Menkara  or  Mycerinus. 
This  dynasty  reigned  for  two  luindred  and  eighty-four  years, 
and  its  wealth  of  monuments  places  us  on  more  solid  histori- 
cal ground  than  any  preceding.      The  chronology  is  still  uncer- 


STATUKS    OK    KA.\li:SES    H    AT    I-IXOK 


tain.  Miss  Edwards  dates  the  erection  of  Kheops  "about  420G 
Ji.  C."  Tin's  is  nnicli  earlier  than  the  dale  here  suggested,  hut 
a  thousand  years  more  or  less  amounts  to  very  little  in  Kgypt. 
The  I'ifth  Dynasty  came  from  I',Ie])hantine  at  the  southern 
extremity  of  L'pper  Egypt,  hut  .Memphis  still  nourished. 
The  .Sixth  iJynast}'  was  from  Memphis,  and  during  its  sway, 
primitive  art  reached  its  zenith,  and  concpiests  and  eonuner- 
cial  relations  were  enlarged. 


.\S- 


.M  11    WOKLl.)    IN     I'lll.    M.W     (.  l.NHRV 


riu-ii  follows  ail  eclipse.  Tlurc  was  civil  strife  and  a 
breakiiiL;  up  i^i  oKl  lelaliiMis.  The  dynasties  ninnhering  seven 
to  ten.  which  were  oi  l\Ienii)his.  display  art  fcM'nis  so  similar 
to  those  oi  Thebes,  which  are  numerically  later,  that  we  are 
not  sure  how  far  the\-  ma\-  h,i\e  been  contemporary. 


THK    IIHIHKST    OBELISKS    IN    EGYPT,    KAKNAK 


What  we  know  is,  that  with  the  Sixth  Dynasty  the  Old  Em- 
pire ends,  and  that  with  the  Eleventh,  whose  capital  was  Thebes, 
the  nation  awoke  as  from  a  lethargy;  and  with  the  Twelfth  a 
new  period  of  glory  was  at  its  flood.  In  this  dynasty  the  Sphinx- 
was  erected,  or  if  earlier  erected,  was  now  reconsecrated  by 
Amen-emhet  III,  in  honor  of  the  god  of  the  sun-disc,  Horus. 


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353 


The  Thirteenth  Dynasty  gives  us  another  chasm,  caused 
by  the  invasion  of  those  peoples  of  whom  we  know  so  little 
and  talk  so  learnedly,  the  Hyksos,  or  Shepherd  kings.  There 
were    eight    or    ten    of    these    monarchs,    constituting    three 


UAMESES  II  AS  III;   riioi  (,111    III-:  oi'Ght  to  look      statue  at  i.uxok 


dynasties,  and  they  had  their  capita!  and  scat  nf  power  in 
the  Delta,  while  the  Tluhan  piincfs  niaintaiiu'd  a  tributary 
government.  Th<-  llyksoswere  of  Semitic  origin,  and  at  fust 
devoted  themselves  more  or  less  to  devastation  ami  icono- 
clasm ;  but  later  they  became  naturalized,  and  adoptcil  the 
forms  and  religion  'of  the  country.  it  is  believed  t<i  ha\e 
been  in  the  reign  of  the  Ijyksos  that  Josiph  became  prime 
minister  of  Kgypt. 


354  I'lii'  ^'1-1'  wi'Ki  1)  IN    1111    M  w   c  i:\irm' 

TluMi  tMiiu-  tlu'  i\MCtion.ii\-  dynasty,  tlu-  St.'\ontccnlh. 
which  i^icw  stroni^iT  in  Tlicbos;  and  then  the  Mii^-htoenth, 
('(HiiukHl  1)\-  Thothnics  1.  who  (h'tivc  (Hit  the  llyksos,  icunitctl 
I\o\-pt.  aiul  restored  the  authoiitx'  ot  1  lu:hes,  thi-  huiuhed- 
i^ated  eilw  His  sun  was  Amen-hotep  1,  and  liis  name 
reminds  nie  tliat  I  am  i;lad  tliere  are  so  many  ways  of 
spelhni;  tliese  names  tliat  I  can  haidl)'  run  amiss.  Thothmes 
had  a  son.  Thothmes  II.  lie  overran  western  Asia  and  took 
man\'  captives,  and  enhirged  the  temple  of  Karnak,  which 
was  not  small  before.  lie  also  had  a  daughter,  Ilatasu,  wlio 
reignetl  with  her  father  before  his  death,  and  with  her  brother 
afterward.  Thothmes  II  married  her,  to  get  rid  of  her  I 
imagine,  for  in  Egypt  it  was  not  thought  strange  if  a  man 
married  his  sister,  and  I  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the 
prayer-books  began  by  forbidding  a  man  to  marry  his  grand- 
mother. An}-wa)',  riu^thmes  II  married  his  troublesome 
sister  Hatasu,  probably  to  prevent  her  from  becoming  his 
rival;  and  when  the}-  had  been  made  one,  the  old  question 
arose.  Which  one?  It  was  she.  Finding  her  husband  in 
her  wa}-,  she  connived  at  his  death,  assumed  male  attire,  and 
became  an  advocate  of  woman's  rights.  By  her  own  request 
she  was  addressed  as  a  man.  Her  request  had  great  weight 
with  her  subjects.  She  reigned  for  twenty-one  years. 
Thothmes  HI,  who  was  an  Egyptian  Alexander  the  Great, 
and  who  had  been  reigning  with  Hatasu,  reigned  alone  after 
her  death.  His  mummy  was  discovered  in  i88i,  with  the 
burial  flowers  so  fresh  that  they  seemed  recently  to  have  been 
left  in  his  cofTin;  but  they  crumbled  after  being  exposed  to 
the  air.  After  him  came  Amen-hotep  III,  who  built  the 
monster  seated  statues  known  as  the  Mnemnon  of  Thebes. 
There  was  another  Thothmes,  and  then  followed  Amen-hotep, 
or  Amenophis  IV,  later  known  as  Khu-en-Aten,  who 
attempted  to  change  the  prevailing  polytheism  to  sun-wor- 
ship. The  prevailing  religion  now  became  more  nearly  mono- 
theistic than  at  any  other  time.  The  priests  of  Thebes  opposed 
the  king,  and  he  deserted  that  city,  as  we  have  already  been 
told,  and   founded  a  new  capital   at  Tell  el-Amarna.      That  is 


VP   THK    NILE 


355 


well  for  us;  for  we  know  some  things  about  ancient  history 
which  we  never  could  have  learned  but  for  the  discovery  of  his 
record  office  in  the  ruins  of  that  city.  Three  kings  followed 
him  there,  but  the  fourth  returned  to  Thebes,  and  the  old 
religion,  which  had  been  slowly  coming  back,  re-established 
itself. 

Then  came  the  Nineteenth  Dynasty,  about  which  we  know 


j^'r^^ 

fl| 

J^;^ 

^^  V    »  W^H 

f 

T 

^1 

^ 

i 

i 

1 

m 

.'t^ 

1^HF7 

J.'  ■ 

RAMESES    II    AS    MIS    M^M.\1^     slKius    HIM 


most,  and  in  which  we  are  most  interested.  Rameses  I 
usurped  the  throne,  and  had  a  reign,  short,  sharp  and  suc- 
cessful. Mis  son  Seti,  or  .Sethos  I,  followed,  and  estaijlished 
hi.s  .succession  b\-  marrying  the  grandilaughtei'  of  Anien-hotep 
in.  And  tlien  came  Rameses  the  (ireat.  alxml  whom  oiu' 
hears  so  much  in  Egypt  that  wi-rt-  he  any  one  else  we  siionld 
be  tired  to  death  of  him. 

Rameses  II  joiiu'd  jiis  f.ither  in  the  thrunc  when  he  was 
only  ten  years  of  age.  lie  was  the  gre.ilesl  of  all  Egyptian 
kings.      He    reigned    sixty-seven    years,  and    is  said    to   ha\'i; 


33^'  rill    oi.n  woKi.n  in   iiii:  m:\v  cKXTrRV 

hcciMiic  so  oKl  aiui  hliiul  that  lie  kil'UHl  hinise'lf  ratluT  than  h'\-c 
on  ill  hUndncss.  lie  luiilt  halt  the  extant  temples  in  Es^ypt, 
and  claimeil  the  honor  of  many  of  the  remainini;  half,  obliler- 
atin;^  the  names  oi  his  ])re(lcccs.soi's  that  histor\'  niii^ht  seem 
to  bei;in  with  him.  Rameses  was  a  married  man.  He  took 
tliree  royal  wives,  i)\'  whom  he  had  ten  sons  and  thirteen 
daueliters.  These  were  not  his  onl\-  \\i\'es  and  children, 
however,  for  his  family  rccoi'd  had  entered  npon  it  the  names 
of  one  lunulred  and  sexent)-  ehiklren,  of  whom  one  Inmdred 
and  elex'en  were  sons  antl  tift}--nine  daughters.  In  July, 
1881,  his  mumni}-,  which  is  now  in  the  Gizeh  Museum,  was 
discovered  at  l^iban  cl-Muluk,  near  Thebes,  by  Professor 
Maspero  and  Herr  Emil  Brusch  Bey. 

Rameses  the  Great  is  believed  to  have  been  the  Pharaoh 
of  the  oppression,  and  liis  dynasty  that  which  knew  not 
Joseph.  If  this  is  correct,  then  his  son  Menephtah  was  the 
Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus.  He  was  the  third  son  of  Rameses 
II.  The  first  son,  Rameses,  a  soldier,  died  yount^,  and  the 
second,  Khames,  a  priest,  lived  fifty  years,  but  died  before 
his  father. 

Menephtah  had  l)ut  one  son,  the  fruit  of  his  old  ai;-e, 
named  Seti-Menephtah,  a  fearless  and  accomplished  warrior, 
who  "sat  with  Pharaoh  in  his  throne."  This  was  unusual  in 
Egypt,  but  the  monuments  show  him  to  have  been  regent 
with  his  father.  He  died  before  his  father,  and  apparently 
suddenly.  His  tomb  was  never  completed,  but  remained 
only  a  corridor  in  the  plan,  whose  extremity  still  lies  in  rough 
rock.  It  is  little  wonder  that  the  discovery  of  these  facts  has 
seemed  to  many  a  striking  confirmation  of  the  Bible  account 
of  the  death  of  the  first  born. 

After  Menephtah  came  Seti  II,  and  with  him  began  a 
period  of  disorder,  and  soon  there  was  a  new  dynasty. 

This  is  as  much  of  Egyptian  history  as  one  might  be 
expected  to  master  on  the  train  between  Cairo  and  Luxor, 
and  while  it  would  be  well  for  him  to  know  more,  and  more, 
happily,  is  to  be  known,  it  will  serve  as  an  outline  which  may 
be  filled  in  according  to  one's  opportunities. 


UP   THE    NILE 


357 


The  train  crosses  the  Nile  early  in  the  morning-,  and  gives 
the  tourist  a  look  at  the  other  bank.  The  train  makes  good 
time,  with  occasional  stops,  just  long  enough  to  afford 
glimpses  of  life  on  the  platforms  and  in  the  villages  about. 
And  before  we  are  weary  of  riding,  we  are  at  Luxor,  having 


ONE    WIFK    OK    KAMKSKS    II 


STATIK    AT    UXOR 


made  a  night's  journey  yield  a  satisfactory  look  at  the  land 
by  the  glimpses  afforded  us  in  the  afternoon  and  the  morning. 
The  first  impression  which  one  obtains  of  tlir  ruins  of 
Mgypt  is  that  of  their  vastness.  We  might  put  togetiier 
everything  that  we  saw  in  Athens  and  lose  it  almost  an\- 
where  near  the  site  of  Thebes.  The  very  tlrsl  temple  which 
we  saw,  that  of  Luxor,  seemetl  to  us  immense,  but  it  w.is  a 
playhouse  beside   that   of    Kaniak.       Hacdeker  aiKises  people 


,^3^  i"Hi".  OLD  woKi.n   IN    Tin:   m:\v  CE^•I■l'K^" 

to  soi-  Kaiii.il<  lirsl,  l>ut  it  wmiUl  sct'iu  better  to  nu'  to  i)ay 
the  tirst  \isit  to  the  temple  at  l.uxor.  aiul  'J,\vc  the  idea  <-»f 
vastness  in  one's  mind  some-  oppoitunitx-  to  cxi)and. 

The  temple  of  Luxor  was  i)uilt  In-  Amcnophis  TIT,  a  klw^ 
of  the  ICii^htocnth  Dynasty.  It  occupies  the  site  of  a  temple 
still  older.  According^  to  his  usual  custom,  Ramcses  II  pos- 
sessed himself  of  this  temple  and  claimed  it  as  his  own.  addint;- 
•greatly  to  its  extent  and  ornamentation.  Its  total  length  is 
two  hundred  and  eight>--four  yards.  If  one  can  get  some 
unit  of  measure  in  mind  by  which  to  make  this  distance  real 
to  him,  and  then  remember  that  this  is  a  relatively  small 
temple,  he  will  be  able  more  nearly  to  appreciate  the  immense 
area  covered  by  some  of  these  Egyptian  structures.  Six 
colossal  statues  of  Rameses  II,  two  of  them  sitting  and  four 
standing,  adorned  the  pylon  of  this  great  edifice.  Two  of  the 
sitting  figures  and  one  of  the  standing  ones  now  remain. 
The  sitting  figures  are  forty-five  feet  in  height. 

In  front  of  these  were  two  fine  obelisks  of  pink  granite, 
one  of  which  is  now  in  the  Place  de  la  Concorde  at  Paris. 
The  P>ench  engineers  had  a  hard  time  moving  this  monolith, 
which  is  sevent)--five  feet  high,  seven  and  one-half  feet  scpiare 
at  the  base,  and  weighs  two  hundred  and  twelve  tons.  The 
one  they  took,  however,  is  smaller  than  that  which  remains. 
The  famous  obelisk  in  Central  Park,  New  York,  is  sixty-nine 
feet  high  and  weighs  two  hundred  and  twenty  tons.  It  was 
transported  to  this  country  in  1877,  and  is  the  sixth  in  size 
of  the  known  obelisks  in  Egypt.  The  obelisk  of  St.  John 
Lateran,  in  Rome,  is  the  highest  in  the  w^orld,  being  one 
hundred  and  five  feet  in  length,  and  is  sui)posed  to  weigh  five 
hundred  tons,  but  this  is  in  three  pieces.  The  largest  mono- 
lithic obelisk  now  .standing  in  I'^gypt  is  in  the  temple  of 
Karnak,  and  is  ninety-seven  and  one-half  feet  in  height,  and 
its  diameter  at  the  base  is  eight  and  one-half  feet.  When 
one  sees  how^  abundant  such  monuments  are  in  Egypt,  and 
how  readily  the  ancients  undertook  contracts  for  their  erec- 
tion, and  remembers  that  even  modern  engineers  count  it  a 
respectable  achievement  to  transport  one  of  these  monstrous 


IP   Till-:    NILE 


359 


shafts  and  stand  it  upon   end,  he  gains  largely  in  his  respect 
for  the  mechanical  genius  of  the  old-time  Pharaohs. 

A  mosque  which  stands  over  a  portion  of  the  old  temple 
of  Luxor  and  the  adjacent  buildings  makes  it  somewhat 
difficult    to    continue    excavations.      They   are    still    di"<Tin<v. 


N.MIVl.    M  HIANS 


Phoiograph  by  Miss  Grace  A.  Ross 

however,  and  every  little  while  uncover  another  image  <if 
Rameses  the  Great,  or  of  the  god  Amon,  in  whuse  honor 
Rameses  erected  pari  of  the  temple  and  stoK'  ilu-  icsl.  (^ne 
such  had  just  been  unco\ered  when  wc  were  tluiv.  and  .inotlu'r 
was  in  the  process  of  emerging  from  the  soil.  An\-  om-  of 
these  is  large  enough  and  fine  enough  to  be  counted  an  impor- 
tant discovery  if  such  things  were  less  common  in   l.g>  pi. 

Of  the  temi)le  itself,  so  dwarfed  l)\-  llu-  pro\imit\-  of 
vaster  ruins,  1  am  glad  lo  find  this  word  of  y\melia  \\. 
Edwards: 


M'o  riiK  oij)  \\oK\.\)  IN  nil-;  m  \\   c  l,^nl^:^• 

■•ll  tiu- wiioiobuiiiiiuii  could  lie  traiisporlcd  IxKlily  to  some  point  Iic- 
lueeu  Mempliis  and  Siiit,  wlieie  the  river  is  bare  of  ruins,  it  would  lie 
eiitluisiastically  visitid.  Here  it  is  eclipsed  liy  llie  wonders  of  Karnak  and 
the  western  hank,  and  is  undeservedly  neglected.  Those  parts  of  tlie 
original  building  which  yet  remain  are  indeed  peculiarly  |)recious;  for  Anieii- 
iiotep  ill  w. IS  one  of  the  great  builder-kings  of  Egypt,  and  we  have  here 
one  of  the  few  extant  specimens  of  his  work." 

Whenever  ;i  kino  built  a  temple  to  some  ood  he  was  Hkel\' 
to  L;i\'e  the  images  of  the  i^otl  his  own  face.  Tliis  was  con- 
sidered a  compHment  to  the  god.  It  is  liard  to  tell  where 
religion  ended  and  vanity  began  with  the  old  Egyptian  kings. 
WHien  a  king  died,  his  friends  made  images  of  the  god  Isis 
w  ith  the  face  of  the  dead  king.  Indeed,  the  identity  of  the 
dead  man  and  the  god  of  the  dead  merged  themselves  in  a 
manner  most  confusing  even  to  specialists.  At  Denderah 
one  finds  images  of  the  goddess  Hathor  with  the  face  of  Cleo- 
patra. But  to  do  the  old  monarchs  justice,  perhaps  it  was 
politics  instead  of  vanity  that  they  mixed  with  their  religion. 
It  was  a  [)rimitive  and  effective  union  of  church  and  state, 
certainly,  which  made  a  subject  worship  the  face  of  his  king 
whenever  he  bowed  before  the  image  of  his  god. 

All  the  monarchs  of  Egypt  were  handsome  men  according 
to  the  recognized  standards  of  beauty  then  in  vogue.  Who 
of  us  might  not  go  down  to  posterity  as  an  Apollo  if  he  had 
power  to  chop  off  the  artist's  head?  Even  in  this  day,  in 
which  the  artist  ])rofesses  to  "paint  the  thing  as  he  sees  it, 
for  the  God  of  things  as  they  are,"  and  the  camera  does  its 
mercilessly  truthful  work,  there  is  such  a  thing  as  idealism 
in  portraiture,  or  some  of  us  wotdd  stand  less  frequently 
before  the  lens.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  say  that  the  Egyptian 
artists  were  guilty  of  flattery;  but  he  who  wrought  under  the 
sword  of  Damocles  might  be  forgiven  if  he  exercised  charity 
toward  the  wrinkles  of  his  majesty,  or  mollified  the  redness 
of  his  nose,  or  threw  into  the  shadow  the  wart  upon  his  chin. 
Cromwell  scolded  the  artist  who  eliminated  the  wart  from  his 
cheek,  and  cried,  "Taint  me  as  I  am!"  The  inference  is, 
that  the  artist  at  once  proceeded  to  insert  a  wart,  and  that 
Cromwell  expressed  .satisfaction.      Hut  who  dare  say  that   he 


UP  THE    NILE 


,^6i 


KIKST    (ATAKACT    OK    Till.    MLli.      TKM  I'l.K    OK    IMS,    AT    VHll.M 
(Courtesy  of  Mr.  Frank  C.  Clark) 

was  not  pleased  when  the  artist  made  ihr  w.ni  the  tiniest 
shade  smaller  than  it  really  was?  Kameses  II  w.is  foml  of 
havin^^  his  picture  taken;  and  we  have  no  conleinp'>'ary  cnii- 
plaint  that  he  did  not  resendjle  his  portraits.  It  is  too  late 
in  the   (lav  to   ask  the   artist^   to   insert   the  wart  if   there  was 


362  1111      ol  1'    WUKI.D    IN     rill.    M:\\     LKNll  K\' 

one.  \'\\uc  has  ils  statutes  of  limitation.  Tt  is  not  fair  to 
tell  Kanicscs  to  his  niuniin\-  tliat  he  is  not  as  handsome  as  he 
thought  himself  to  l)e.  Let  us  rather  l)elievc  the  artists  to 
have  been  truthful,  and  Rameses  to  have  been  modest,  even 
thou;.;h  we  si^h  o\ei"  t)ur  own  lack  of  similar  advantages  to 
make  ourselves  beautiful  in  the  e\-es  of  posterity. 

I  roile  about  Luxor  on  a  donke\-  in  the  micUlle  of  the  day. 
A  street  fair  was  in  ])roi;ress  in  the  nati\e  part  of  the  town, 
and  \'ei;"etables  and  other  commodities  were  for  sale;  but 
ever\-  one  had  stopped  for  his  siesta  and  was  stretched  out 
and  fast  asleep.  People  were  lyint;  in  picturesque  attitudes 
wherexer  there  was  any  shade.  LI  ere,  as  nowhere  else 
even  in  Lgx-pt,  I  was  distressctl  b)-  flies  on  children's 
faces.  Even  when  awake,  the  child  makes  little  attempt 
to  tlri\-e  the  insects  away,  and  when  he  is  asleep  they 
settle  in  i^reat  black  rings  around  his  eyes  and  mouth 
and  nostrils.  If  diseases  of  the  eyes  can  be  s]:)read  by  the 
flies,  it  is  simpl)-  mar\'elous  that  an}'  one,  from  the  first  cata- 
ract to  the  Delta,  has  not  been  blind  since  ciiildhood.  There 
is  nothing  that  distresses  the  visitor  more  than  the  sight  of 
these  little  ones  with  their  eyes  unwashed  and  fairly  hidden 
by  concentric  rings  of  flies. 

In  Luxor  one  sees  not  only  Arabs,  but  Nubians,  black  as 
ink;  and  these  grow  more  plentiful  farther  up  the  Nile,  The 
dress  is  picturesque,  but  there  is  not  much  of  it. 

Luxor  is  noted  for  its  relic  factories.  There  are  places 
where  they  grind  out  with  astonishing  rapidity  scarabs  and 
idols  and  everything  in  brisk  demand  by  tourists.  As  forgers, 
they  are  unequaled  since  the  days  of  Rameses  II,  and  as  liars 
they  might  well  trace  their  descent  from  Ananias.  Many  of 
their  imitations  are  so  crude  that  even  a  few  days'  residence 
in  Egypt  enables  one  to  detect  their  spurious  character,  but 
others  are  so  well  made  that  they  would  deceive  the  very 
elect.  The  manufacturers  are  said  to  impart  an  appearance 
of  age  to  their  scarabs  by  feeding  them  to  turkeys.  The 
attrition  and  chemical  action  of  the  turkey's  gizzard  will  do 
as  much  toward   aging  a  clay  beetle  as  would   three  thousand 


UP   THE    NILE 


years  in  an  Egyptian  grave.  Elvery  guide  and  donkey  boy 
is  interested  in  the  sale  of  some  of  these  articles,  and  either 
has  thcni  himself  or  gets  a  commission  at  the  place  where  you 
buy  them.  Besides  this,  countless  venders  run  after  you  and 
display  their  brand  new  antiques  with  the  most  cheerful  false- 
hoods about  their  hoary  age. 


Al'PKOACH    TO    THIi    TEMPLE    OF    KAKNAK. -- AVENUE    OK   Sl'HlN.XES 


"Did  \-ou  make  this  last  week?"  I  asked,  when  shown 
some  articles  that  were  manifestl}-  new. 

"No,  no,  last  night,"  was  the  answi-r.  which  indeed 
seemed  true. 

It  would  not  be  safe  to  infer  that  there  are  no  aiiti(|ucs 
obtainable.  A  great  many  genuine  articles  are  s(^ld  in  Luxor. 
and  some  of  them  are  offered  at  lower  prices  than  are  tlemaiuled 
farther  down  the  Nile.  There  is  a  law  against  the  exporta- 
tion of  anti(|ues,  but  inasmuch  as  the  government  itself  sells 
them  throuuh  the  museums,  and  the  custom  house  oflicers 
are  disinclined  to  burden  themselves  by  st-arching  for  small 
articles,  one    may  obey  the   s])irit  <if   the    law  rather  than    the 


i,ty\  1111.    OLD    WuKl.n    IN     I'll!'.    M:\\     tl  Nll'in' 

letter.  A  stcaiiu-r  it^ll  .uul  iul;  arc  \  cry  coinciiicnt  in  Eqyiit, 
aiul  not  least  so  wlun  oiu-  conies  to  pack  his  l)el()nL;inL;s  for 
departure. 

Iveturnin!^- to  the  hotel,  I  h.ul  an  interview  with  a  would-be 
i;uitle  who  introduced  himself  as  Chanipat;ne  Charlie,  and 
declareti  himself  to  he  the  son  of  Rameses  II.  He  told  the 
most  preposterous  tales  oi  his  royal  birth,  and  his  ai-istocratic 
connection,  auil  1  could  not  (|uite  be  sure  whether  he  was 
a  liarmless  lunatic  or  a  buffoon.  In  either  e\x-nt,  I  had  no 
need  of  him;  we  have  lunatics  enoui^h  at  home  and  fools 
besides.  He  who  goes  to  Ei^ypt  has  need  of  somethiuij 
different. 

There  is  nothing;-  in  I'^gypt  tliat  wearies  one  like  the 
monotonous  descriptions  i;iven  by  the  guides.  They  are  a 
necessary  evil  until  one  gets  his  bearings;  but  one  really 
bejjins  to  learn  when  he  has  dismissed  his  guide,  a  truth  which 
applies  to  other  countries  than  Egypt.  A  party  as  large  as 
ours,  and  traveling  as  rapidly,  had  to  use  guides.  Each 
called  his  group  into  temple  or  tomb  in  long-drawn,  monoto- 
nous tones: 

"Comin'  in  I  Comin'  in  I  Ladies  and  gentlemen!  If  you 
please!  This  is  the  temple  of  Rameses  the  Great!  This  is 
the  statue  of  Rameses  the  Great,  w^earin'  the  double  crown  of 
Upper  and  Lower  Egypt,  and  holdin'  the  key  of  life  and  the 
key  of  the  Nile!" 

No  doubt  it  looks  in  print  as  if  it  might  have  sounded 
interesting  enough;  but  by  the  time  we  had  been  shown  fifty 
or  a  hundred  statues  of  Rameses  the  Great,  wearing  the 
crowns  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt,  and  holding  now  the  key 
of  life  and  then  the  key  of  the  Nile,  and  had  been  told  the 
same  thing  about  each  in  the  very  same  language  and  tone, 
we  wearied  of  it.  We  even  grew  able  to  identify  the  double 
crown  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt  without  being  told,  and  to 
know  the  keys  apart,  and  to  conjecture  w  ith  reasonable  cer- 
tainty that  every  statue  not  otherwise  recognizable,  was 
Rameses  the  Great.  Rameses  had  so  incorrigible  a  desire 
that  posterity  should  see  his  features  in   stone,  it  serves  him 


UP  THE    NILE 


365 


right  that  his  mummy  should  have  been  exhumed  and  pos- 
terity permitted  to  see  his  actual  face. 

Besides  this,  Rameses,  who  was  the  greatest  forger  the 
world  has  ever  seen,  had  a  habit  of  obliterating  other  people's 
names  and  writing  his  own  on  whatever  pleased  him.      So  the 


THE    PORTAL   OF   KUERGETES   11 


AUDfl.    IN    IKONT 


monuments  vary  more  or  less,  and  make  it  safe  to  assume  that 
everything  as  old  as  Rameses  now  bears  his  name.  Rame.scs 
knew  a  good  thing  when  he  saw  it,  and  got  \\Iiatc\cr  he  went 
after.  So,  even  a  tourist  comes  in  time  to  recogni/.e  tile 
great  Rameses  at  sight,  and  could  wish  the  guide  to  give  him 
less  familiar  information.  Ikit  the  guide  is  wound  up  and 
set  for  his  own  story,  and  goes  through  it  with  tin-  utmost 
composure. 

A  <''uide  grows  ]»o-it  ivdv  .  Ir  Kjiniit  ,  liow  cvci',  when  ^cclving 


.5 


66         -ini.:  OLD  \\i)KLi)  IN    nil    m.w   lI'-Mikx 


cinploxiiu'iit,  .iiu!  i-xpatiatiii^:;  on  Iiis  own  (|ualifications.  In 
the  cwiiini;  1  walked  from  tlu-  liot(,l  door  to  the  edge  of  the 
wide  \'eran(-la,  .uul  stood  lool<inq;  acioss  the  Nile,  when  one  of 
those  tiirhaneil  phihinthiopists,  seeing  ine  as  I  left  the  door, 
approached  from  the  front  and  stood  in  the  walk  behnv,  look- 
ing up  at  me.  lie  asked  me  to  employ  him  next  day;  assured 
me  that  he  knew  that  1  must  ])e  wear)-  of  the  company's  guide 
(which  was  true  I'nough,  in  all  conscience);  and  went  on  to  tell 
how  good  he  was,  and  how  incomparably  better  his  (pialifica- 
tion.s  were  than  those  of  any  other  man.  He  was  tall,  and 
straight,  and  wore  a  long  robe  and  a  white  turban,  and  he 
talked  on  without  an  answer  or  gesture  of  encouragement  from 
me,  I  le  knew  the  story  of  his  own  qualifications  as  he  doubt- 
less knew  that  of  Rameses  the  Great  and  the  double  crown  of 
Lower  and  Upper  Egypt.  It  soon  became  a  test  of  endur- 
ance— a  question  whether  he  could  maintain  speech  or  I 
silence,  the  longer.  I  was  the  first  to  give  way.  He  said 
his  name  was  in  Baedeker.  No  guide  can  make  a  larger 
claim  for  himself  than  this,  and  it  is  one  easily  proved  or  dis- 
proved. I  felt  sure  that  he  was  lying,  and  drew  my  book 
from  my  pocket,  and  with  the  electric  light  shining  over  my 
shoulder  upon  the  ])age  and  in  his  face,  turned  to  the  list  of 
accredited  guides.  He  knew  that  I  would  soon  confront  him 
with  his  lie,  and  went  calmly  on  to  say  that  Baedeker's  man 
had  misspelled  his  name,  which  w^as  given  in  the  book  as  one 
totally  different.  Then,  without  the  slightest  change  of  tone 
or  loss  of  composure,  he  continued  to  tell  of  his  qualifications 
until  I  turned  and  went  into  the  hotel.  Such  a  man  would 
have   a  great   career   in  America  if   he   gave   his   attention   to 

politics. 

If  thou  wouldst  view  Kaniak  aright 
Go  visit  it  by  the  pale  moonlight. 

Walter  Scott  never  had  seen  Melrose  b\'  moonlight,  but 
he  knew  it  would  look  well  so.  I  ditl  not  see  Karnak  by 
moonlight,  but  advise  others  to  do  so.  It  was  one  of  the 
things  we  were  all  determined  to  do,  and  I  engaged  a  guide 
and  a  donkey  boy.      The  moon  was  perfect,  but  the  members 


UP   THE    NILE 


367 


of  our  part}-  were  so  wearied  with  the  ride  of  the  night  before, 
and  with  the  heat  and  dust  of  the  day.  tliat  we  gave  it  up. 
And  this  brings  me  to  the  story  of  my  donkey  boy,  Abdul. 
I  give  liis  name,  and  that  gladly,  hoping  that  some  of  my 
readers  may  fall  into  his  hands. 

Abdul   came  to  me  bv  inheritance,  and   the  manner  of  the 


COLLAINS 


TEMl'LE    OF    KHON.S 


same  was  this.  Shortly  before  I  left  home,  a  friend  calKd 
and  left  Uvc  dollars  in  gold,  which  she  tlesiretl  mc  to  gi\'e  to 
her  donkey  boy  in  Egyi)t.  I  was  out  when  she  callctl.  hut 
found  the  money  and  her  card  with  the  l)o\''s  name,  Abdul, 
and  that  of  his  donkey,  Never  'i'arry  ;  but  slu'  had  neglected 
to  say  where  Abdul  liwd,  and  I  presume,  had  forgotten  his 
last  name.  1  thought  that  I  should  see  her  befoie  leaving, 
but  in  the  thousand  last  things  to  be  done.  1  faiK;d  to  accom- 
plish it,  and  so  left  with  onl\-  tin-  moncx'  aimI  the  card,  with 
no  information  as  to  where,  in  tlu:  six  hundred  miles  of  ni\' 
ride    alouLT   the    Nile.   I    should    meet  Aixlul.       Wv  the    time    1 


,V>S         riiK  OLD  WDKi.i)  IN    iiii';  m;\\   ciixri'KV 

oiitcicd  I-li^ypt  1  hail  foiLMUlcn  him,  ami  on  m\-  an"i\-al  at 
i.uxiM-  cngas^cd  both  a  ihmkcy  1)(\\'  ami  a  i;uidc.  It  was  just 
before  noon,  and  T  had  compK'ti-d  my  as^'reement  with  the 
ilonkc\-  ho\-  to  be  with  me  in  the  .d'ternoi^n,  when,  asking;'  his 
name.  I  remembered  m\'  message. 

"  Po  ydu  know  a  donkey  bo}'  named  i\bdul?"  I  asked. 

lie  (.lid;  .uul  I  retlected  that  Abdul  in  I*"-p^}'pt  is  as  com- 
mon a  name  as  I'atrick  in  Irehunl,  and  that  the  chances  of  my 
I'lnding  the  pi-o])er  recipient  of  the  five  dollars  were  small. 
Howe\-er.  I  toKl  the  bo\-  to  fintl  Abdul  and  brini:^  him  to  me, 

.\bdul  came.  He  was  fifteen  }'ears  old,  and  wore  a  fez- 
like cap.  to  which  later  he  added  a  turban,  whose  many  yards 
of  white  cloth  greatly  changed  his  appearance. 

"What  is  your  name?"  I  asked. 

"Abdul  Mohammed,"  he  replied. 

I  reflected  that  were  Moiiammed  his  other  name,  the  lady 
would  ha\e  remembered  it. 

"I  only  know  the  name  Abdul,"  I  replied.  "What  is 
your  donkey's  name?" 

"Never  Tarry,"  he  replied. 

The  very  name! 

Still.  I  thought,  it  is  quite  possible  that  so  good  a  name 
might  belong  to  more  than  one  donkey;  and  I  was  not  sure 
that  I  had  not  told  the  other  donkey  boy  that  I  was  seeking 
an  Abdul  whose  donkey's  name  was  Never  Tarry,  thus 
striving  to  mak-e  the  donkey's  surname  suffice  for  lack  of 
the  boy's. 

"Have  you  the  cards  of  people  wlio  have  ridden  your 
donkey?" 

He  said  he  had,  but  not  with  him. 

"Get  them,"  I  said. 

He  ran  to  get  them,  and  soon  was  back  \\ith  a  pocketful 
of  visiting  cards  and  letters  of  recommendation.  Sure  enough, 
there  was  Mrs.  Adams's  card! 

"I  want  you  and  your  donkey,"  said  I.  "There  are 
several  ladies  in  my  party.      You  will  take  one  of  them." 

"No,  I  take  vou,"  he  said. 


UI'   THE    MLK  369 

"I  have  a  donke\-  boy,"  said  I. 
"Pay  him  somethin;^  and  let  him  go,"  said  he. 
"But  I  engaged  him,"  said  I. 
"But  I  go  with  you,"  said  he. 

"Very  well,"  said  I.      "Tell  the  other  boy  to  bring  a  siile- 
saddle  on  his  donkey,  and  vou  ma\'  take  me." 


KA.\I-lli:AI-)li]J    .Si'IllN\i:.s  IK.Ml'l.h    Ol      KAKNAK 

The  other  boy,  however,  held  mc  to  the  contract.  lie 
had  no  side-saddle,  and  did  not  wish  his  donkey  to  carr\'  a 
lady.  If  I  did  not  take  him  I  must  pa}-  him.  1  w.is  under 
the  sway  of  Abdul.  I  paid  the  other  boy  in  full  and  dis- 
charged him. 

I  told  .\l)(hil  tint    1   had  ,1  guide,  and   he  protested. 

"You  need  no  guide  but  Abdul,"  said  he.  "(iixi-  him 
something  and  let  him  go." 

I  waited  till  I  had  seen  moic  of  Abdul's  abiiitv,  and  at 
length  1  did  as  he  desired.  No  man  can  serve  two  masters. 
It  was   enough   for    me  to    \n-    under  Abdul's   control,  and    he 


v->/ 


o  illl".    oil)    \\(^KI.I)    IN    Till".    M:\V    Cl'.NlTRV 


\voukl  ha\c  l.ikt'ii  the  L;uidc  as  an  evidence  (if  my  lack  of  con- 
fiilcncc  in  liini. 

I  th(niL;lit  I  could  compromise  with  the  guide,  and  offered 
him  half-price  without  worl-:.  But  he  insisted  on  all  that  was 
nominatetl  in  the  bontl,  and  T  paid  him  all,  and  had  Abdul 
alone.  Abdul  was  an  expensive  luxury,  but  1  should  have 
hired  him  tlrst. 

Then  Abdul  told  me  that  I  was  his  master,  and  he  was 
ready  to  do  all  things  that  might  be  requested  by  myself  or 
friends.  The  ladies  were  not  to  seek  donkey  boys.  He  would 
find  them.  How  many  did  I  want?  I  hesitated  about  giving 
him  the  entire  contract,  but  at  length  I  consented. 

After  luncheon  we  came  out  on  the  hotel  veranda  ready 
for  a  ride.  Some  forty  yards  in  front  of  the  hotel  and  toward 
the  river  is  a  wall,  and  below  that  wall  the  donkey  boys  had 
congregated.  They  were  not  permitted  as  yet  by  the  hotel 
guards  to  come  through.  They  were  mounted  on  their  little 
beasts,  each  trying  to  get  close  to  the  wall  and  near  to  the 
gate,  that   he  might  quickly  secure   a  rider  for  the  afternoon. 

When  permission  was  given  them  to  come  through,  it  was 
as  if  Bedlam  was  coming  on  a  gallop.  The  man  who  had  not 
already  engaged  his  donkey  was  pulled  hither  and  yon,  and 
had  to  extricate  himself,  sometimes  by  means  of  positive 
violence.  Not  all  of  the  donkey  boys  were  boys,  and  some 
of  them  contended  over  a  possible  passenger  as  Satan  con- 
tended with  Michael  for  the  body  of  Moses.  Into  that  mass 
of  men  and  mules,  Abdul  plunged  and  brought  forth,  I  know 
not  how,  a  donkey  with  side-saddle  and  attendant.  He 
settled  one  lady,  and  plunged  in  again. 

"You  got  nothing  to  do,"  he  said  to  me.  "I  will  find 
the  good  donkeys.      Stand  here." 

I  am  not  accustomed  to  standing  still  while  small  boys  do 
business  for  me,  but  after  a  few  attempts,  I  let  Abdul  have 
his  way,  and  a  good  way  it  was.  He  chose  well  and  promptly. 
We  were  all  soon  mountetl  and  away. 

Then  Abdul  laid  down  these  rules  for  my  observance. 

"I  your  donkey  boy;   you   my  master.      You  all  the  same 


UP  THE    NILE 


171 


to  nie  like  mv  father.  What  vou  tell  me,  I  do.  You  sfot 
nothing  to  do;  you  tell  me.  You  got  nothing  to  do  with 
guide;  I  your  guide.  You  got  nothing  to  do  with  other 
donkey  boys;  I  your  donkey  boy.  If  any  lady  not  glad  for 
her  donkey,  if  any  lady  not  glad   for  her  saddle,  she  tell  you; 


COLUMNS 


TKMl'I.K    1)1-     KAKNAK 


you  got  nothing  to  do,  you  tell  nic.  If  you  want  to  bu\- 
scarab,  buy  nuimniy,  buy  any  somethings,  you  got  nothing  to 
do,  you  tell  mc.  If  anybody  show  you  any  somethings  and  you 
want  it,  you  got  nothing  to  do;  you  give  it  back  and  icll  mc." 

Abdul  was  a  tyrant.  Whenever  I  attempted  to  do  au)'- 
thing  for  myself,  he  sorrowfully  resented  it.  If  1  looked 
longingly  at  an  offered  article  and  held  it  as  if  to  buy  it.  he 
said  reproachfully.  "()  my  master,  I  got  nothing  to  do  I" 

So  I  (lid    m\-  business  tlirough  .Abdul.       If  1  saw  a  thinsj   1 


Illl     ol  1)    WOKI  1>    IN     rill':    M\\     CKNTURV 


liked.  I  l;".i\-o  him  .ilioul  a  third  the  price  tleiuandcd,  and  he 
•^ot  it  for  me.  1  susjiect  I  hat  he  reserx-ed  for  himself  a  com- 
mission, and  I  ilo  not  i^riul^e  it  to  liiiu.  He  boui^ht  my 
articles  at  reasonable  prices,  and  if  they  yielded  him  a  profit, 
■^o   mnch    the   l)etter.      Sometimes   we   rode  alone,    and   made 


,MiMudA&M3>M:B 


SHISHAK   AND   HIS   CAPTIVES 

purchases  beyond  the  amount  of  silver  which  I  had  with  me; 
but  the  people  were  willing  to  trust  Abdul  and  an  American. 

"Genuine!  Antique!  Show  it  to  Dr.  Murch!  Send 
back  money  by  Abdul!"  was  their  frequent  cry. 

Dr.  Murch,  the  American  missionary  at  Luxor,  is  the 
most  frequently  quoted  man  in  all  that  region.  His  knowl- 
edge of  Egyptian  antiquities  is  as  wide  as  his  kindness  is 
sincere.  The  offer  to  allow  a  customer  to  show  an  article  to 
Dr.  Murch  goes  far  as  an  assurance  of  the  owner's  faith  in  its 
genuineness.      The   two  names  which    I  commend   to  Ameri- 


UP   THE    NILE 


0/0 


cans  visiting  Luxor,  are  those  of  Dr.  March,  the  Christian 
missionary,  and  Abdul  Mohammed,  the  Moslem  donkey  bo\'. 

Abdul  entered  into  all  my  interests.  "I  hope  you  have 
good  news  from  home,"  he  asked,  on  the  second  morning. 

"Partly  so,"  I  said;  "but  I  have  a  letter  saying  that  my 
son,  a  year  younger  than  you,  has  broken  his  leg.  I  shall  be 
very  anxious  till  I  hear  from  him  again." 

Then  Abdul  broke  out  into  genuine  Oriental  lamentation. 


HVr'OSTVLE   HALT.        TKMPLE   OF    E.SNEH 


"Oh!  oh!  oil!  oh  I  1  am  so  sorry!  My  master's  son! 
Just  the  same  to  me  as  my  brother!  My  brother  has  broken 
his  leg!  My  brother  has  broken  his  leg!  Oh!  oh!  I  think 
I  shall  not  eat  any  dinner!" 

At  intervals  thereafter,  Abdul  sighed,  and  said.  "My 
brother  has  broken  his  leg!"  Ikit  I  must  confess  that  when  he 
returned  to  me  after  noon  he  gave  no  evidence  of  having  fasted. 

I  secured  my  donkey  boy,  or  rather  he  secured  me,  as  I 
have  recorded,  and  he  got  me  out  of  the  mix-up  in  front  of 
the  hotel,  and  we  started  for  Karnak.  We  soon  realized  that 
we  were  near  the  Tropic  of  Cancer,  and  only  thirty  miles 
north  of  the  famous  well,  straight  down  which  the  sun  shines 
at  the  time  of  the  summer  solstice.  It  was  hot,  and  not  only 
hot   but  dustw      The  weather  had  tiiat  fcelin<j  that  made  vnu 


,^74  I  II  I     "I-"    WOKl.D    IN     I  111'.    NI.W     CENTURY 

t.|uito  sure  of  a  thuiulcistonn  before  iiiL;ht  ;  but  it  hardl}' 
ever  rains  in  Ei^ypt.  and  the  thist  seems  to  ha\'e  ileepencd  ever 
since  the  time  of  Rameses  the  Great.  1 1 o\\e\-er,  the  annual 
inundation  oi  the  Nile  does  la}'  the  dust  :  I)ut  it  was  past  the 
time  of  the  oveVllow.  Out  of  the  village  we  rode,  and  across 
the  flat  plain  a  distance  of  two  miles,  enveloped  in  a  suffo- 
cating cloud  o\'  dust,  kicked  up  by  our  donkey  cavalcade.  We 
approached  the  Temple  of  Karnak  by  an  imposing  avenue  of 
ram-headed  sphinxes,  placed  only  twelve  feet  apart,  and 
lining  the  road  on  either  side.  This  avenue  is  sixty-three 
feet  wide.  When  wc  were  told  that  this  avenue  had  extended 
all  the  \\a\'  from  Luxor,  two  miles  and  more,  and  that  the 
sphinxes  had  lined  both  sides  all  the  way,  antl  when  afterward 
we  found  about  Karnak  four  more  of  these  broad  thorough- 
fares guarded  by  these  great  st(ine  beasts  couchant,  it  began 
to  dawn  upon  me  that  I  had  not  made  adequate  mental  prepa- 
ration for  the  incredible  immensity  of  Egyptian  ruins. 

The  Temple  of  Karnak  is  so  much  larger  than  that  of 
Luxor,  and  so  exceeds  it  in  every  point  of  interest,  that  I 
have  not  courage  to  give  any  figures  about  its  dimensions. 
One  simply  wanders  from  one  ruin  to  another,  until  his 
imagination  loses  its  power  to  expand.  We  first  went  through 
the  Temple  of  Khons,  the  moon-god,  which  we  entered  by 
the  Portal  of  Euergetes,  a  massive  and  imposing  gateway 
which  is  one  hundred  and  four  feet  in  length,  thirty-three 
feet  in  breadth,  and  sixty  feet  in  height.  When  we  had  fin- 
ished this  temple,  I  supposed  that  we  were  through  with 
Karnak,  but  we  had  barely  touched  the  hem  of  its  garment. 
Besides  this  are  the  Temple  of  Mont  and  the  Temple  of  Mut, 
the  Temple  of  Ptah,  the  Temple  of  Rameses  IH,  the  so-called 
Small  Temple  of  Rameses  II,  and  a  larger  temple  erected  by 
the  same  monarch,  the  Temple  of  Amenophis  II,  and  the 
Temple  of  Seti  II.  When  we  had  finished  these,  none  of 
them  small,  and  had  viewed  innumerable  minor  temples,  we 
had  still  before  us  the  stupendous  Temple  of  Ammon,  which 
is  a  wilderness  of  carved  stone,  so  vast  that  one  stands  within 
it  speechless  and  almost  afraid.      There  are  })}-lons  and  courts 


UP   THE    NILE 


375 


and  colonnades  and  corridors  and  hypostyles  innumerable,  and 
columns  so  vast  and  obelisks  so  high  that  they  combine  to 
give  one  a  profound  impression  of  dignity,  stability  and  vast- 
ness,  and  a  realization  of  the  energy  and  power  of  the  long 
lines  of  kings  whose  successive  efforts  through  unnumbered 
generations  alone  made  such  a  pile  possible. 

Dean    Stanley  afifirms   that   the  Temple  of    Karnak  is  the 


TEMIM.K    OF    EDFU 


grandest  building  ever  raised  to  the  glory  and  adoration  of 
God,  and  the  oldest  consecrated  place  of  worship  in  the  world. 
The  area  of  its  central  hall  is  57,629  feet,  and  each  of  its  140 
columns  is  34  feet  in  circumference,  and  62  feet  in  height, 
without  reckoning  abacus  or  plinth. 

Among  the  many  Pharaohs  who  contributed  to  tlu-  making 
of  this  tcmjile  was  Shishak,  a  contemporary  of  Solomon,  who 
added  a  chapel.  This  Shishak,  as  tlu-  Bible  calls  liim.  or 
.Sheshonk,  as  his  name  appears  on  the  monuments,  coiujueretl 
Rehoboam,  and  exacted  trijjute  from  him,  as  we  are  told  in 
I  Kings  14:25  and  2  Chronicles  12:3-9.  V\'hen  .Shishak 
built  this  chapel  he  recorded  his  victories  over  sixt}-tliree 
kings  upon  its  walls,  representing  eacii  tril)ut,ii"\-  king  with  his 


0/ 


t> 


rill    OLD  woKi.i)  IN    rill'.  m:\\   ci:\rim' 


arni'^  ticil  lu-hiiul  him  aiul  a  rope  arouiul  his  lU'ck.  iXnioni;' 
tlicso  fii^uros  is  mic.  the  cartmichc  of  whicli  roads,  "Kini;'  (^1 
Judah."  ami  which  is  e\iclontl\-  intended  for  Ri-hoboani.  ()f 
course  it  is  not  \.o  he  infeired  that  Shish.dv'  actually  Ictl  these 
kiiiijs  in  this  \\a\',  hut  onl\-  tli.it  he^  conc|ueiH'(l  them,  and 
exacted  tiihute.  Some  of  them,  iiuleed,  he  may  have  bound; 
but  the  three  strinyis  of  kini;s  aie  to  be  understood  as  a  meta- 
phorical record  of  conquest. 

The  law  of  compensation  hoUls  in  tra\-el.  Those  of  our 
part)-  who  had  the  shorter  time  in  Palestine  had  time  to  t^o 
on  to  Esneh.  and  \-iew  its  tenii)le  w  ith  the  magnificent  Hypo- 
style  Ifall,  to  I'.dfu,  where  stands  the  Temple  of  Horus,  most 
perfect  of  all  the-  ancient  structures  of  Ei^ypt,  and  to  Assuan 
and  Phihe,  with  their  famed  relics,  and  the  no  less  famous 
cataract  of  the  Nile.  These  were  not  for  us  who  had  taken 
the  long-  ride  in  the  Holy  Land,  but  I  am  t;lad  that  the 
others  saw  them.  We  haci  seen  enough  already  to  make  us 
glad  that  we  were  in  Egypt.  But  before  we  descended  the 
Nile  there  remained  for  us  one  more  day  of  sightseeing,  the 
fullest  and  best  of  all  that  I  spent  in  the  Land  of  the  Nile. 


RUINS   AT   KAKNAK 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
THE    TOMBS    OF    THE    KINGS 

Most  of  the  cities  of  ancient  Egypt  were  built  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  Nile.  Most  of  the  cities  of  their  dead  are  on  the 
west  bank.  Therefore,  he  who  would  visit  the  Pyramids  from 
Cairo  or  the  tombs  of  the  kings  from  Luxor,  must  cross  the 
Nile.  This  the  funeral  processions  did  in  the  old  days,  and 
so  thoroughly  was  the  crossing  of  water  a  part  of  their  thought 
of  the  passing  of  the  soul,  that  beside  the  funeral  voyage 
over  the  Nile,  a  special  journey  by  boat  across  a  sacred  lake 
near  the  temples  was  often  a  feature  of  the  funeral  rites. 
Pictures  of  this,  and  of  the  voyage  of  the  dead  man  be}-ond 
this  life,  are  freely  painted  on  the  wails  of  the  tombs.  This 
voyage  is  closely  related  to  the  progress  of  the  sun  in  its  night 
journey.  Disappearing  behind  the  Libyan  hills,  and  sailing 
through  the  twelve  stages  of  the  night,  the  sun  [)aralleled  the 
course  of  the  dead  man's  voyage  through  its  twelve  watches, 
amid  sea  monsters  and  opposing  spirits,  to  the  judgment  and 
the  realm  of  bliss. 

The  most  interesting  and  instructive  day  which  I  spent  in 
Egypt  was  that  on  which  our  j)arty  made  the  journey  to  the 
tombs  of  the  kings.  We  crossed  the  Nile  in  boats  from 
Luxor,  where  thousands  of  funeral  fleets  had  stirred  the  water 
before  us — the  boatmen,  as  usual,  robbing  us  on  the  way — 
and  found  our  donkeys  waiting  on  the  other  side.  Those 
people  who  did  not  fee  their  donkey  boys  liberally  on  the 
preceding  day  found  themselves  unprovided  with  beasts.  To 
be  sure  there  were  other  donkeys  there,  and  their  owners  were 
glad  of  the  chance  of  employment,  but  tlu'  animals  in  general 
were  inferior,  and  the  economical  tourist  had  to  do  this,  his 
hardest  day's  riding,  w  ith  a  slower  and  less  comfortable  animal 
than  he  had  the  prc\'ious  (la\-. 

377 


^■>/ 


S  niK    OLD    WUKID    IN     rilK    NKW    fl'.Nl'l '  U  N 


If.  h(n\cvcr.  a  iKinkL'\-  hoy  liad  taken  a  fancy  to  his 
employer  of  tin-  ila\-  before,  he  eoukl  no  more  sliake  him  off 
tlian  I  could  lia\e  L;(Uten  litl  of  Ahcliil.  One  lady  had  deter- 
mined to  chansjje  donkeys,  and  so,  w  hen  the  boat  came  to  land, 
stood  hooking  across  tlie  water  and  mud,  and  trying  to  choose 
a  donkev  before  she  landed;  but  her  tlri\'er  of  the  preceding 
tla\-  saw  her,  and  rushing  into  the  water,  seized  her,  and  bore 
her  hodil)-  ashore.  It  was  ludicrous,  for  she  had  no  fancy 
for  the  Lochinvar  act,  and  kicked  and  struggled  with  right 
good  will  while  he  splashed  ashore  with  her;  and  though  he 
planted  her  in  the  saddle,  she  beat  him  back  by  main  strength, 
and  regained  her  liberty.  Her  act  established  a  new  record 
for  the  American  girl,  and  was  rewarded  by  the  finding  of  a 
donkey  less  forlorn  and  a  driver  less  laz}-  than  the  one  whose 
sudden  outbreak  of  energy  was  in  such  conspicuous  contrast 
with  his  conduct  when  drawing  pay. 

Our  ferry  landed  us  on  a  large  island,  but  the  branch  of 
the  Nile  on  the  other  side  is  narrow,  and  no  boat  is  required 
to  cross  it.  After  a  ride  of  about  two  miles,  we  came  to  the 
Temple  of  Seti  I.,  built  in  honor  of  Amon.  Since  we  have 
left  the  ruins  of  Karnak,  I  have  courage  to  give  some  figures. 
The  length  of  this  temple  is  five  hundred  feet;  its  present 
width  is  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  feet,  and  there  are  evi- 
dences that  it  once  was  wider.  Tt  would  be  worth  going  up  the 
Nile  to  see  if  there  were  nothing  else ;  but  we  could  stop  a  short 
time  only,  for  we  were  on  our  way  to  the  tombs  of  the  kings, 
at  Biban  el-Muluk. 

The  first  evidence  which  we  had  that  we  were  nearing  the 
tombs  was  the  ap])arent  genuineness  of  the  relics  offered  for 
sale  along  the  way.  Fresh-baked  scarabs  and  idols  warm 
from  the  oven  were  no  longer  the  stock  in  trade.  We  were 
getting  to  where  it  was  cheaper  to  steal  relics  than  to  make 
them.  Pieces  of  mummy  cases,  shreds  of  mummy  cloth,  and 
mummied  cats  and  hawks  of  indubitable  age,  now  began  to 
make  an  appearance:  and  now  and  then  we  were  offered  a 
mummied  hand  or  foot,  swathed  round  and  round  in  ban- 
dages thousands  of  years  old. 


THE    TOMBS   OF    THE    KINGS 


379 


"Imperial  Ciesar  dead  and  turned  to  clay, 
May  stop  a  crack  or  keep  the  wind  away." 

The   hand   that  once   held   tlie   scepter  of  a  Pharaoh   is   now 

liable  to  be  wrenched  off  by  some  grave-robber  and  sold  to  a 

tourist,  who  must  buy  portable  relics  if  any.      I  had  no  fond- 


OUR    I'ARTV    CROSSING   THK    NILE 


ncss  f')r  this  kind  of  souvenir,  but  tastes  differ.  .Some  of  otir 
party  acquired  them  ea^^erly.  When  we  reached  the  custom 
house  at  New  York  the  inspectors  made  some  startlint;  dis- 
closures. One  excellent  lady,  whose  trunk  stood  near  mine, 
because,  forsooth,  her  name  begins  with  the  same  letter,  and 
tile  trunks  are  arranged  in  alphabetical  order,  was  troubled  in 
her  conscience  about  reporting  these  things  In  the  custom 
house  officials. 

"  riiev    certainJN'    wt're    puiehaseii, "    she    saiil,  ";ind    so    I 


3^^^ 


Till"    (M.n    WOKl.D    IN     I'lll'.    M:\\     CENTL!RY 


oiioht  to  ilccl.uv  llu'iii;    Inil  ;it  what  rate  do  }-oii  suppose  they 
will  chari;e  chily  upon  ihrni?" 

*'Dut>-  is  chargeil  on  antiques,"  reph"cd  some   one  wise  in 
the   hiw.  "acconlini;-  to  tlie   material    of  which   they  are   coni- 

pcised. 

"Dear  nie!"  she  said ;  "what 
shall  I  say  about  the  material?" 

The   inspector  was  diving  deep 
amouL;'  her  goods. 

"What  have  vou  got  in  there?" 
he  demanded,  [jointing  to  a  paste- 
board box  carefully  wrapped  and 
tied. 

"Oh,  that — that — "  she  said, 
blushing  like  a  criminal  caught  in 
the  act,  "that  is  a  mummied 
hand." 

"A  what?"  demanded  the  in- 
spector. 

"A  hand;  the  hand  of  a  mum- 
my," said  she,  gathering  courage, 
but  looking  yet  more  guilty. 

"I  don't  understand."  said  he; 
"open  it  up !" 

"I  am  sure  it  is  not  dutiable," 
she  pouted,  tugging  at  the  string. 
"I   don't  know  about  that;    I 
want  to  see  it." 

She   opened    the   box   and   dis- 
played the  contents,  handling  it  gingerly  by  the  wrist. 

"That— that  thing!"  said  he;  "bless  you,  miss,  that  ain't 
the  kind  of  thing  I'm  after!  I'd  rather  have  your  hand  than 
the  hands  of  all  the  dead  niggers  in  Egyi)t." 

Much  relieved,  she  tied  up  the  box  and  stowed  it  away  in 
its  proper  place  among  her  finery. 

I  read  some  years  ago  a  chapter  in  the  experience  of  Bill 
Nye,  who  professed  to  have  bought  a  mummy  in  Egypt,  and 


THE    MV.M.MV    <)1'   SETI    1 


THE   TOMBS   OF    THE    KINGS  3S1 

to  have  discovered  on  getting  him  home  that  tlie  mummy's 
arm  bore  the  tattooed  inscription,  "Richard  Maginis,  Yalj)a- 
raiso.  Ind.,  1849."  The  truthful  William  opined  that  the 
mummy  mines  are  getting  about  worked  out.  It  would  seem 
as  if  it  would  be  so ;  I  understand  that  the  railroad  along  the 
Nile,  before  it  had  established  a  regular  base  of  supplies,  used 
them  as  fuel,  and  found  them  desirable  for  that  purpose. 
Alas,  to  what  base  uses  we  may  return !  But  there  is  no 
present  indication  of  the  exhaustion  of  the  suj^ply.  I  was 
offered  plenty  of  mummies.  The  general  asking  price  of  a 
full-grown  one,  warranted  royal,  was  about  forty  dollars.  1 
much  doubt  the  royalty,  but  the  genuineness  of  the  mumnu- 
was  beyond  question.  I  would  not  think  of  buying  one. 
They  are  so  hideously  life-like,  so  unnaturally  natural,  that 
one  feels  like  making  comments  about  them  in  their  presence 
in  an  undertone.  If  a  tourist  had  as  much  assurance  as  an 
Egyptian  guide,  and  could  talk  as  eloquently  to  an  audience 
of  one  without  the  encouragement  of  a  response,  he  might, 
almost  in  good  faith,  address  to  one  of  these  cured  and  dried 
gentlemen  the  whole  of  Horace  Smith's  poem,  some  of  whose 
lines  continually  come  to  one: 

And  tho'i  hast  walked  about  —  how  strange  a  story! 

In  Tliebes'  streets  three  thousand  years  ago! 
When  tlie  Meninoniuni  was  in  its  glory, 

And  time  had  not  begun  to  overthrow 
Tliose  temples,  palaces,  and  piles  stupendous, 
Of  which  the  very  ruins  are  trmicndous! 

Speak,  for  thou  long  enough  hast  acted  dununy; 

Thou  hast  a  tongue, —  come,  let  us  hear  its  tune! 
Thou'rt  standing  on  tliy  legs,  above  ground,  mummy, 

Revisiting  the  glimpses  of  the  moon, — 
N'ot  like  thin  glujsts  or  diseml)()died  creatures, 
But  with  thy  bones,  and  flesh,  and  limbs,  and  features! 

Perchance  that  very  hand,  now  pinioned  llat. 
Hath  lii)l)-a-nol)bed  with  Pharaoh,  glass  to  glass; 

Or  dropped  a  half-penny  in  Homer's  hat. 
Or  doffed  thine  own  to  let  Queen  Dido  pass; 

Or  lield,  by  .Solomon's  own  invitation, 

A  torch  at  the  great  temple's  dedication! 


3S-:  llll'    ol.n    WDkl.l)    IN     llll".    M'.W    CKN'n'RV 

Surclw  it  one  is  i^iwn  Id  iiKM.ili/.iii;^,  and  di.sj)Osc(I  to  write 
down.  "So  passes  the  ;^"lor\'  of  the  world,"  at  the  end  of  each 
chapter  o(  his  meditation,  the  presence  of  a  nuiniin\'  in  his 
study  as  a  \is-a-\is  wiMdd  furnish  him  constant  material.  But 
1  liitl  not  hii)-  01U-,  thouj^h  the)-  are  very  cheap.  Cheaj) 
indeed  I  It  cost  a  thousand  dollars  each  to  embalm  them, 
antl  here  the\-  are  offered  at  retail  for  forty;  and  no  doubt  a 
Hberal  discount  from  that  ])rice!  If  only  the  old  Egyptians 
had  suspected  this,  would  the)'  not  have  preferred  cre- 
mation? 

Beyond  the  Temple  of  Seti,  (Kir  road  became  a  bridle  path, 
winding  between  desolate  hills  in  the  Libyan  Desert.  As  we 
rode  along,  a  procession  of  Moslems  appeared  in  silhouette  on 
the  sk)-line,  winding  along  the  path  on  the  top  of  the  ridge. 
It  was  their  New  Year,  and  they  were  having  a  celebration. 
They  seemed  like  the  shadowy  ghosts  of  past  ages  making 
their  silent  pilgrimage  along  the  centuries. 

We  soon  entered  a  gorge,  bleak  and  desolate,  and  growing 
constantly  narrower.  There  was  no  spear  of  grass,  no  song 
of  bird  ;  and  the  silence  deepened  into  a  sense  of  mystery  and 
awe  such  that,  liad  we  met  the  kings  of  the  Nineteenth 
Dynasty  in  procession,  leaving  their  tombs  to  revisit  the 
haunts  of  men,  they  could  hardly  have  given  us  surprise. 

At  last,  two  miles  up  the  canon,  where  the  crumbling 
sandstone  clifTs  shut  in,  and  bring  the  valley  to  an  end,  we 
came  to  the  tombs  of  the  kings.  Here  we  dismounted.  Our 
donkey  boys  now  came  to  us,  and  asked  money  to  buy  water 
for  the  donkeys  and  themselves.  We  paid  it,  though  I  am 
satisfied  that  none  of  them  drank.  The  boys  fed  their  don- 
keys, bow-ever,  and  this  was  the  donkey's  dinner:  two  handfuls 
of  meal,  a  baked  cake,  and  an  onion  with  long  green  top.  It 
was  equally  surprising  to  see  the  donkey's  eagerness  to  con- 
sume the  onion,  and  the  boy's  ability  at  any  time  to  produce 
provender  out  of  unsuspected  portions  of  his  raiment.  All 
through  Egypt  and  Palestine  I  was  continually  surprised  at 
the  w^ay  the  natives  procured  brcadstufTs  from  their  clothing. 
The  only  thing  comparable  with   it  is  the  juggler's  ability  to 


THE    TOMBS   OF   THE    KINGS 


383 


K 

o 

H 

Z 
< 

a 

X 

[-1 


O 

i-l 
1-1 
< 

W 
X 

o 
?:$ 
pt. 

u 
o 

H 

U 


3>'4  I'HK    OLD    WORLD    IN     1111.    Nl.W     CKNTIKN 

briiii;'  fricil  Oi;j^s  out  o{  a  sillv  h-it.  or  doughnuts  from  under 
the  collars  of  distin^uisliod  citizens  on  the  front  seats. 

Tlie  lv^\-ptian  ^oxernnient  charges  each  tourist  five  dollars 
for  the  prixile^e  of  seeing-  the  anti(iuities  of  Upper  Egypt. 
The  tickets  are  signed  ami  not  transferable,  and  the  money 
goes  tcnxard  the  restoration  and  preservation  of  the  objects 
of  interest.  Of  course,  some  of  our  party  had  forgotten  their 
tickets,  antl  these  had  to  deposit  a  i)Ound  sterling,  with  little 
hope  of  seeiner  it  a^ain  ;  but  in  every  case  it  was  later  returned 
to  them  at  the  hotel. 

Considering  that  the  Israelites  had  been  in  Egy[)t,  it  is 
marvelous  that  the  Old  Testament  contains  almost  nothing 
about  immortality.  The  Bible  is,  first  of  all,  a  boolc  for  this 
present  life,  but  no  ancient  people  were  so  concerned  for  the 
bodies  of  their  dead,  or  had  so  elaborate  an  eschatology,  as 
the  Egyptians.  They  held  that  the  spirit  revisits  the  body, 
and  often  depicted  the  return  of  the  winged  alter-ego.  But 
they  also  held  that  the  body  itself  retains  some  degree  of 
consciousness.  The  tomb  walls  depict  feasts,  in  which  the 
dead  man  is  supposed,  by  some  spiritual  power,  to  share, 
(^ne  of  these  banquet  scenes  from  a  Theban  tomb,  now  in 
the  British  Museum,  is  here  shown.  Each  of  the  guests  has 
a  lotus-flower,  the  bud  of  which  forms  the  capital  of  many  of 
the  Egyptian  columns. 

Out  of  their  belief  that  the  soul  of  man  did  not  die,  and 
that  even  the  body  retained  something  of  consciousness,  and 
had  within  it  the  germ  of  eternal  hope,  grew  those  splendid 
tombs,  the  Pyramids  and  these  rock-hewn  caverns  of  Thebes. 
This  belief  also  resulted  in  the  skill  in  embalming,  for  which 
the  Egyptians  have  ever  been  famous.  When  a  man  died 
they  removed  from  the  body  those  organs  especially  liable  to 
decomposition,  filled  the  cavity  with  aromatic  drugs,  and 
saturated  all  with  a  mixture  of  carbonate,  sulphate,  and 
nitrate  of  soda,  to  \\hich  sometimes  they  added  salt  of  bitu- 
men. They  then  swathed  it  round  and  round  with  innumer- 
able yards  of  linen  smeared  with  gum,  placed  upon  it  beads 
and  small  symbols  arranged  in  prescribed   form,  and  laid  it  in 


THE   TOMBS   OF  THE    KINGS 


385 


a  tomb  whose  decorations  were  in  accordance  with  the  rank 
of  the  deceased.  As  it  cost  about  a  thousand  dollars  properly 
to  embalm  and  mummify  a  corpse,  the  bodies  of  the  common 
people  were  simply  salted  and  dried. 

The  tomb  was  the  dead  man's  house.  The  chamber  in 
which  the  dead  body  was  laid  was  made  inaccessible,  in  order 
that  his  repose  might  not  be  disturbed;  but  adjacent  cham- 
bers were  provided  where  his  statue  was  set  up,  and  where 
offerings  were  made  to  him   or  to  the  gods  in   his  name.      In 


I 


« 1  •i^TefaKi'i^aj^mnjfjTOif 


ss^-sz&    sis 


>iw  §?»'^ 


.<        SU         111  J<U 


TllK    jriJGMKNT    OF    OSIRIS 

the  dry  climate  of  Egypt,  these  nuiinmies  have  lasted  for  five 
thousand  years,  and  arc  in  as  good  a  state  of  preservation  at 
the  end  of  the  fiftieth  century  as  at  the  close  of  the  first. 

The  I-:gyptians  decorated  their  tombs,  not  siinjjly  out  of 
respect  for  the  dead,  but  also  for  their  instruction.  Extracts 
from  "The  Hook  of  the  Dead"  were  inscribed  ui)on  the  wall. 
and  coi)ies  (;f  the  same  were  often  deposited  with  the  dead 
man.  This  book,  whose  most  ancient  parts  constitute,  per- 
haps, the  world's  oldest  literature,  was  many  centuries  in 
])rocess  of  compilation,  and  is  very  uneciual  in  its  ethical  and 
spiritual  content.  It  is  especially  remarkable  for  its  disa- 
vowal of  fort\--two  crimes  which  the  dc;;i(l  man  must  make  to 
prove  himself   innocent  before   Osiris.      It  is  conjectured   that 


,^So  l-llK    (HA)    WOULD    IN     1111.    M.W     n:\ll   RV 

the  iuinil>cr.  i'orty-t\\(\  is  thai  of  the  Noiuic  i;ocls  of  Egypt. 
1h-  tli.it  .IS  it  ni.i\-,  tlu'  inor.il  lone  of  this  section  of  "Tlic  Book 
oi  the  nc.ul"  is  justh'  .uhiiiii'd.  Spite  of  all  the  degradation 
of  its  [loKtheisni.  there  w  .is  something  good  in  a  religion  that 
const.uuK-  t.iught  men  that  in  the  day  of  judgment  they 
must  pro\e  themselves  guiltless  of  forty-two  sins  of  violence 
and  passion,  the  list  comprising  most  of  the  wrongs  which 
m.m  intlicts  upon  his  neighlior. 

One  of  the  f.i\-orite  scenes  depicted  on  the  walls  of  the 
tombs,  and  insciihed  on  papyrus  to  be  buried  with  the  corpse, 
was  that  of  the  judgment  of  the  dead.  In  the  upper  part  of 
the  field  are  seen  the  forty-two  judges  before  whom  the  kneel- 
ing man,  newly  arrived  from  the  world  above,  must  profess,  "I 
have  defrauded  no  man  ;  I  have  not  prevaricated  at  the  seat 
of  justice;  I  have  not  made  slaves  of  the  Egyptians;  I  have 
not  defiled  ni}-  conscience  for  the  sake  of  my  superior;  I  have 
not  used  \iolence;  I  have  not  famished  my  household;  I 
have  not  caused  others  to  weep;  I  have  not  committed  for- 
gery; I  have  not  falsified  weights  and  measures;  I  have  not 
been  drunken;  I  have  not  pierced  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  nor 
separated  an  arm  of  the  Nile  for  myself  in  the  time  of  its 
increase."  These  arc  the  most  prominent  sins  chosen  out  of 
the  forty-two  which  a  man  must  disclaim.  It  is  evident  that 
these  teachings  must  always  have  been  for  the  good  of  those 
who  received  them.  It  is  also  apparent  that  the  Egyptians 
had  well-defined  laws  on  riparian  rights. 

In  the  lower  register  of  the  same  picture  is  seen  the  judg- 
ment hall  of  Osiris.  On  the  right  is  the  dead  man,  who  is 
received  by  one  or  ir.ore  female  figures,  each  wearing  an 
ostrich  feather,  symbolizing  law.  Sometimes  one  of  these  is 
seen  introducing  him  to  the  other,  who  holds  the  scepter, 
symbol  of  authority,  and  the  <T//.r  aiisata,  symbol  of  life,  and 
constantly  referred  to  by  our  guides  as  "the  key  of  life."  In 
the  center,  the  heart  of  the  dead  man  is  weighed,  truth  and 
justice  being  the  weights  in  the  opposite  scale.  Horus,  the 
hawk-headed  god,  and  Anubis  the  dog-headed  deity,  watch 
the  scale,  and  Anubis  declares   the  result   to  Thoth,  the   ibis- 


THE   TOMBS   OF   THE   KIXGS 


587 


headed  deity  of  wisdom,  wlio  records  the  finding,  and 
announces  it  to  Osiris.  Osiris  is  seated  at  the  left,  wearing  a 
diadem  ornamented  with  two  ostrich  feathers,  and  holding 
a  whip  and  a  crook-headed  scepter.      Before  the  throne  is  an 


KNTKANCK    TO   THK    TOMB   Ol-"    SI,  11     I 
Plioiograph  by  Mrs.  F.   B.  Newell. 


altar,  bearing  the  gifts  made  by  the  dead  man's  friends  in  liis 
behalf.  This  scene,  often  depicted  on  the  walls  of  the  tombs, 
is  here  reproduced  in  a  fine  illustration  from  chapter  125  of 
"The  Book  of  the  Dead." 

Vcw  men.  if  any,  could  profess  freedom  from  all  the  sins 
Cf)mprised  in  the  h'st.  Vov  those  of  which  the  man  was  guilty, 
he  must  answer.  This  accounts  for  llie  presence  in  tombs  of 
numbers  of  images,  not  gods,  but  "ushabti"  figures,  or 
"answerers,"      When  an  I'.L^v'ptian  (h'r<l,  and  the  degree  of  his 


,v"^^         'nil-:  oi.n  W(>i^:i.n  in    iiii',  m:w  tM:\TrRV 

^uih  was  ilctcnuiiK'il,  he  was  supposed  to  he  confi'onUul  b_\- 
the  spirits  i^f  evil  who  accuseil  him  of  his  sins  in  the  upper 
worKi  and  sentencetl  hini  to  threefold  punishments  in  expia- 
tion oi  them.  To  bear  this  ])enance  for  him,  slaves  were 
probably  executed  in  piimitive  times,  that  tliey  might 
"answer"'  for  him  1)_\-  offerini;  to  bear  his  jjenalty  themselves. 
Later  it  \\as  counted  sufficient  that  imatjes  of  the  deceased 
should  be  placed  in  tlic  tomb  with  liim  for  a  like  i)urpose. 
In  theory,  these  were  probably  portrait  statues,  but  often, 
and  perhaps  almost  always,  they  were  conventional.  They 
frequently  represented  the  dead  man  in  the  form  of  Isis,  and 
in  his  stead  they  made  their  "answer"  when  he  was  sentenced 
to  till  the  ground,  to  draw  water  from  the  Nile,  and  to  carry 
sand  from  the  east  to  the  w^est.  Then  it  was  that  these 
"answerers"  were  supposed  to  speak  in  words  somewhat  like 
these : 

"If  yc  ha\e  aught  against  him  wtio  now  conies  to  yon,  Lo,  I  am  here 
in  his  stead.  Call  upon  me  and  I  will  answer;  only  make  the  way  plain  for 
him.  Whatever  ye  put  upon  him,  I  will  bear;  I  will  till  the  ground;  I  will 
draw  water  from  the  Nile;  I  will  carry  sand  from  the  east  to  tlie  west;  only 
for  him  let  the  way  be  made  plain;  call  upon  me  and  I  will  answer  in  his 
stead." 

Many  of  these  images,  especially  the  later  ones,  have  agri- 
cultural implements  in  their  hands,  little  crooked  plows  or 
crude  hoes,  and  on  their  backs  checked  work  in  paint,  that  is 
meant  for  baskets.  With  the  former  they  were  to  till  the  soil 
and  in  the  latter  to  carry  sand  from  the  east  to  the  west,  prob- 
ably to  cover  graves. 

It  is  a  very  striking  thing  that  we  find  the  vicarious  idea 
thus  deeply  rooted  in  Egyptian  theology,  and  no  one  can  fail 
to  be  struck  with  the  beauty  of  the  idea,  even  as  here  crudely 
expressed.  We  have  outgrown  some  crude  theories  of  the 
atonement,  but  we  shall  not  outgrow,  either  in  human  life  or 
in  theology,  a  need  of  the  deep  truth  that  redemption  is 
wrought  by  love  that  can  suffer  for  others'  sake. 

The  structure  of  the  tondjs  is  practically  identical.  There 
is  a  sloping  descent  for  the  admission  of  the  sarcophagus,  with 
shallow  steps  at  either  side.      This  leads  into  a  corridor  which 


THE   TOMBS  OF   THE    KINGS 


389 


opens  into  the  first  of  three  successive  rooms.  In  the  farthest 
of  these  is  the  sarcophagus.  The  walls  of  the  rooms  contain 
scenes  from  the  life  of  the  deceased,  or  more  frequently  pic- 
ture the  deceased  king,  sometimes  identified  with  the  sun-god, 


VESTIBULK   OF   THli   TOMB   OI-    RAMESES   VI 


passing  through  the  twelve  regions  of  the  netiicr  world. 
These  scenes  are  commonly  representctl  in  low  relief  on  the 
plaster  walls  of  the  tomb,  and  arc  decorated  with  pigment 
which  in  many  cases  is  still  bright,  though  for  centuries  it  has 
been  smoked  by  the  candles  and  torches  of  visitors,  and  until 
recently,  mutilated  by  the  relic-hunting  vandal. 

These  tombs  are  so  much  alike  that  one  might  almost  as 
well  be  content  with  a  single  one  of  them.  I'.aeh  has  its 
sloping  descent,  and  its  three  chambers  connected  \)y  straight 


39«         niK  oLP  woKiD  IN    rill',  Ni:\\   cKNirK\ 

coi-ritlors,  and  cacli  ils  inscriptions  fnnn  the  sacred  l)0()ks. 
Vet  one  finds  in  them  a  strani^e  fascination,  and  l^'ocs  on  from 
one  to  another.  W'e  visited  tlie  tomlis  of  Ranicscs  IV,  VI, 
111.  and  IX.  antl  then  the  t'lnest  of  all,  the  tomb  of  Scti  I, 
father  oi  Rameses  the  Cireat.  It  has  been  kn(n\n  since  1817. 
It  is  three  hnndred  and  thirt\-  feet  in  len-th,  and  besides  its 
three  chand)ers,  has  several  smaller  rooms.  One  character- 
istic illnstration  from  the  walls  of  this  tond)  is  here  reproducetl. 
Seti.  crowned  with  the  double  crown,  is  offcrin^j  wine  to 
Osiris,  who  is  addressed  as  "the  tijreat  ^od  of  the  west";  that 
is,  of  the  land  of  the  dead.  Behind  Osiris  stands  Isis,  with 
the  sun's  disc  between  her  heifer-horns,  and  behind  her  is 
llorus,  son  of  Osiris  and  Isis,  who  holds  a  scepter.  All  three 
of  these  gods  hold  the  syndjol  of  life.  These  pictures,  which 
seem  at  first  so  unreal  that  we  wonder  if  any  one  really  under- 
stands them,  become,  after  a  little  study,  sufificiently  familiar 
to  enable  even  the  casual  tourist  to  interpret  some  of  those 
most  frequently  met.  The  ability  to  do  this  adds  so  much 
to  the  interest  of  one's  visit,  that  it  is  well  for  the  tourist  to 
learn  in  advance  the  most  common  deities  and  symbols. 

Here  we  trace  the  beginnings  of  those  art  forms  which 
reached  their  perfection  in  Greece.  The  prototypes  of  those 
breathing  forms  in  marble  are  here  in  the  tombs  of  Egypt. 

But  the  art  of  Egypt  is  the  art  of  death.  It  was  a  phi- 
losophy of  death  that  gave  it  form,  not  the  joy  of  life.  It 
was  born  of  the  desert,  straight  lined,  flat,  monotonous,  and 
desolate.  The  beauty  of  exuberant  life  was  never  in  it.  The 
uplifted  heart  of  hope  never  gave  it  grace  or  delicacy.  In 
the  days  when  it  was  most  alive  it  had  the  stiffness  and  sto- 
lidity of  death.  But  it  is  vast,  imposing,  stupendous.  It  is 
full  of  the  majesty  of  enormous  proportions  and  herculean 
endeavor.  Its  dimensions  are  suggested  by  the  unlimited 
space  of  the  desert;  and  like  the  desert,  it  had  and  still  has, 
the  unchanging  grandeur  of  vastness  and  mystery. 

Tourists  cannot  visit  the  tomb  of  Rameses  II,  and  there 
is  nothing  there  worth  seeing.  We  stood  opposite  its  filled-up 
entrance  and  were  glad  to  locate  the  spot.      It  was  plundered 


THE    TOMBS   OF   THE    KIXGS 


39' 


in  ancient  times,  and  the  bodies  were  removed  from  this  and 
many  other  of  these  tombs  to  a  pit  on  the  other  side  of  the 
mountain,  probably  to  prevent  the  graves  from  being  rifled. 
There  they  were  found  in  1881,  and  removed  to  the  Gizch 
Museum. 

We  saw  these  things  by  the  light  of  candles;   but  the  day 


SETI   OFFERING   WINE   TO   OSIKIS 


is  not  far  distant  when  no  smoke  will  be  allowed  within  those 
frescoed  tombs.  Already  they  are  wired  for  ckctric  ligliting. 
Could  anything  be  more  incongruous?  Ikit  it  is  a  tiling  to 
be  devoutly  thank'ful  foi-,  and  posterity  will  bless  us  for  pre- 
serving these  wonderful  decorations  from  the  smoke  that  would 
surely  obliterate  them  in  time. 

In  the  farthest  apartment  of  the  tomb  of  Scti  I,  our  guide 
called  us  together,  and  made  almost  tearful  allusion  to  our  ac- 
quaintance, and  our  comingseparation.  We  were  to  retuiii  down 


M)2 


THK  o\.\)  woui.n  IN    Mil':  Ni:w  century 


the  Nile  that  ni,i;ht,  and  befoii^  \\c  wt-nt,  he  wanted  to  present 
us  each  w  ith  a  soiwonir  b)-  wliich  to  rrnuMiil)cM-  him.  It  was 
beautiful  to  see  his  affection  for  us.  lie  i^axc  us  each  a  coun- 
terfeit scarab,  false  even  in  that  dim  light,  and  posted  himself 
in  the  narrow  passage  where  he  could  levy  tribute  on  c^ich  of  us. 
Our  guide's  farewell  had  one  effect  on  our  party.  He 
besought  us  all    not  to  go  over   the  mountains,  which    he  said 


THE  TOMBS  OF  THE  KINGS  FROM  THE  MOUNTAIN  TOP 

were  steep,  dangerous,  and  full  of  robbers.  He  said  that  the 
donkey  boys  would  urge  us  to  go  that  way,  but  that  this  was 
for  evil  ends  of  their  own,  and  that  we  must  not  believe  them. 
We  should  go  back  straight  down  the  valley  as  we  came.  I 
knew  that  there  was  some  scheme  behind  this  benevolent 
advice,  and  could  only  suspect  what  I  still  suppose  was  true, 
that  he  was  lazy  and  disinclined  to  make  the  climb;  and  as  the 
only  advantage  mentioned  in  the  climb  was  the  view  from  the 
top  of  the  mountain,  I  was  not  unwilling  to  go  back  the  way 
we  came.  And  thus  our  party  mis.sed,  and  I  came  near  missing, 
one  of  the  best  experiences  in  Egypt,  and  for  me  the  very  best. 


THE    TOMBS   OF    THE    KINGS  393 

I  was  delayed  in  starting  back  from  the  tombs,  and  found 
near!}'  all  our  party  mounted,  and  some  of  them  already  on 
their  way  down  the  valley.  I  called  for  Abdul,  who  was 
usually  very  prompt.  He  delayed  a  little,  and  when  I  was 
finally  mounted  and  about  to  join  the  others,  he  said.  "No, 
no,  we  go  by  ourselves."  I  protested  somewhat  feebl}%  but 
I  had  learned  to  trust  the  boy,  and  I  let  him  have  his  way. 
He  assured  me  that  I  would  find  it  worth  while.  So  Abdul 
and  I  together  struck  out  o\'er  the  hills. 

I  never  saw  a  more  desolate  scene  than  that  obtained  from 
the  top  of  this  ridge  looking  back  into  the  valley  of  the  tombs. 
To  see  it  at  its  best  one  needs  to  view  it  thus  in  the  silence 
and  the  isolation. 

While  one  of  the  chief  pleasures  of  the  cruise  was  in  the 
fellowship  of  our  companions,  there  was  something  singularly 
satisfactory  in  being  alone  at  this  time,  and  I  reveled  in  the 
experiences  that  isolation  brought  me.  It  was  pleasant  to 
get  away  from  the  tedious,  parrot-tale  of  the  guide;  to  hear 
nothing  for  a  few  hours  of  the  gossip  and  chat  of  the  journey; 
and  to  step  alone,  into  a  remote  past,  face  to  face  with  the 
spirit  of  antiquity. 

In  an  article  on  Arizona  in  a  recent  number  of  The  Atlantic, 
Harriet  Monroe  says  of  the  emotions  inspired   by  the  desert: 

"I  felt  the  coming  of  new  empires,  the  burden  of  uiil)oni  c;enturic.><,  and 
grew  great  with  the  unspeakable  hope  and  unspeakable  sadness  of  tlie 
wilderness.  It  was  a  most  complex  emotion,  this  vision  of  unachieved  glory 
set  against  a  background  of  immemorial  anti(iuitv." 

One  feels  this  even  more,  but  with  less  of  the  hope,  where 
the  glory  has  been  achieved  and  lost.  The  barren,  desolate 
land  comes,  through  its  very  lifelessness,  to  partake  of  the  life 
of  the  past.  As  the  mummy,  through  his  immortal  death, 
seems  strangely  half-alive,  so  this  region  of  the  lombs  comes 
to  have  a  semblance  of  swathed  and  silent  \\{c. 

.    .    .    .     The  clod  1  tram]ilf 
\\  as  the  skull  of  royal  I'haraoh, 
And  the  water  of  the  river 
In  the  veins  of  haughty  princes 
Once  ran  reil. 


391  I'liK  OLD  WOULD  IN    nil,  m:\\   lkmurv 

And  the  iliist-cloiuls  of  tlie  desert 
Were  the  iijis  i»f  li>ve]y  women; 
W'liere  are  they,  ;iiui  tluy  who  kissid  iheui? 
Power  dies  and  beauty  passes, 
Nar.ght  ;il)ides. 

They  were  mighty,  yet  they  vanished; 
Names  are  all  they  left  behind  them: 
(ilory  first,  and  then  an  echo; 
Then  the  very  eclio  hnshes, 
All  is  still. 

In  the  stillness  of  this  retrospect,  one  views  Egypt  from 
the  top  of  the  barren  mountain  above  Biban  el-Muluk.  llere 
he  stands  face  to  face  with  the  past. 

There  were  other  things  with  which  I  stood  face  to  face. 
Descending  into  the  \'al!e\%  I  entered  a  region  full  of  natives 
who  have  many  things  to  sell,  and  I  was  their  only  possible 
victim.  A  fine  bronze  mirror  from  the  tombs  of  the  queens 
was  among  the  treasures  offered  me.  Those  in  the  British 
Museum  are  not  finer  specimens.  An  alabaster  tear-bottle 
and  some  pieces  of  mummy  cases  with  figures  as  fresh  upon 
them  as  though  painted  only  a  year  ago;  a  statue  of  Amon 
and  another  of  Osiris;  a  mummied  hawk  and  a  mummied  cat, 
and  a  carved  wood  tablet  of  most  ancient  aspect — all  these  I 
gladly  bought.  Abdul  did  the  buying  for  me,  rushing  in 
among  the  eager  peddlers  and  pushing  them  to  right  and  left 
as  though  he  had  been  a  man  and  they  but  boys.  He  would 
snatch  an  article  which  I  desired  to  buy  and  hand  over  a  coin 
for  it,  and  when  the  owner  followed,  protesting  that  he  could 
not  sell  it  for  the  sum  which  he  had  received,  Abdul  would 
liand  it  back  and  take  the  money  with  a  face  as  impassive  as 
the  statue  of  Rameses  itself.  Then  he  would  wait  until  the 
owner  came  back,  begging  him  to  keep  the  article  and  let  him 
have  the  money.  I  made  purchases  until  all  my  silver  was 
gone,  and  then  the  tug  of  war  came  in  the  effort  to  group 
together  a  number  of  small  j)urchases  and  make  them  aggre- 
gate a  ten-franc  piece  in  gold.  Abdul  accomplished  this, 
assigning  to  each  owner  of  a  purchased  relic  his  proportionate 
share  in  the  future  division;   and  though  they  protested   they 


THE   TOMBS   OF   THE    KIXGS 


395 


accepted  his  distribution  as  final.  They  had  more  articles  for 
sale  and  pressed  them  upon  us,  but  Abdul  imperturbabh'  re- 
moved his  turban,  tied  up  all  purchases,  fastened  them  upon 
the  donke\-  behind  me.  and  charged  me  to  gallop  on  ahead  while 
he  remained  to  settle  the  dispute  among  the  peddlers.  He 
soon   overtook  me,   and   we   made   more   purchases  later   on. 


THE   TEMPLE    (»F    IIAIASI 


When  a  man  offered  me  an  anticpie  and  I  said  "No  money," 
he  would  say,  "Take  it,  and  send  money  by  donkey  boy." 
I  was  glad  to  find  that  they  trusted  strangers  as  tlu'\-  did. 
When  we  reached  the  hotel  and  Abtlul  unrolled  hi^  turban, 
I  felt  as  I  fancy  the  children  of  Israel  diil  after  lhe\-  had  gone 
out  and  spoiled  the  Egyptians,  for  1  had  a  collection  ot  relics 
unmistakably  genuine,  which,  without  being  bulky  or  cumber- 
some, were  the  sort  of  aiUicpies  I  was  glad  to  bring  honu- 
from  Egypt. 

Across  the  mountain  from  the  tombs  of  the  kings  lies  the 
Temple  of  Hatasu.  It  is  (piite  unlike  any  other  Egyptian 
temple,  being   built  in  a  series  of   terraces  on  the  slope  of  the 


3y6  I'llK    OLD    WOKl.l)    IN     lllK    NKW    CKNTURY 

foothill;  .iiul  iiistc.ul  o\  staiuliiiL;-  out  clean-cut  at;"ainst  the  sky, 
it  has  the  haic  clilT  iov  a  hackt^i'ouml.  Ilatasu,  wIkisc  reign 
was  contemporary  with  those  of  thiee  men,  none'  of  whom 
was  fooblo.  pitnetl  heiself  stronger  and  more  capable  than  any 
of  them ;  antl  this  temple  fittingly  embraces  more  original 
features  than  an\-  in  I^lgypt.  The  Egyptians  call  it  Der 
el-Rahri.  which  means.  "The  loveliest  of  all."  Much  of  it 
has  been  restored,  so  that  the  complete  plan  is  easily  dis- 
cerned. In  some  of  its  inner  sanctuaries  the  i)aint  is  almost 
as  bright  as  if  it  had  been  applied  in  recent  years. 

I  \\-ent  through  the  Temple  of  Hatasu  unattended  even 
b\-  .Vbdul.  He  was  busy  near  the  gate,  holding  preliminary 
negotiations  with  a  group  of  peddlers.  It  may  be  that  the 
men  were  grave-robbers,  but  a  certain  high  official  of  the 
tombs,  expecting  (^ur  part}'  from  around  the  mountain,  rode 
up  just  as  I  came  out  of  the  gate.  He  took  an  interest  in 
my  purchases,  and  gave  me  the  benefit  of  liis  knowledge. 
The  law  forbidding  the  exportation  of  relics  is  not  meant  to 
appl}-.  and  cannot  be  applied,  to  relatively  small  purchases  of 
things  easily  duplicated. 

Near  the  Temple  of  Hatasu  1  had  an  experience  that 
reminded  me  that  woman's  power  in  Egypt  did  not  end  with 
Hatasu  and  Cleopatra. 

Four  girls  ran  after  me  with  articles  for  sale.  I  did  not 
want  to  buy,  and  so  rode  on,  soon  leaving  three  of  them 
behind.  One,  tall  and  lithe,  kept  up  with  my  cantering 
donkey,  and  as  I  still  refused  to  examine  her  beads  and  trink- 
ets, she  desisted  from  her  attempts  to  sell,  and  begged  for 
"bakshish."  T  urged  ni}'  donkey  on,  but  she  still  kept  up; 
and  as  she  continued  to  beg  she  addressed  me  with  larger  and 
more  flattering  titles.  At  first  it  was  "Bakshish,  monsieur," 
and  then  the  promotions  began.  I  was  master,  colonel,  and 
my  lord,  all  within  five  minutes.  She  attempted  to  kiss  my 
hand,  calling  me  general,  and  governor,  and  when  I  withdrew 
my  hand  she  caught  my  stirrup,  and  repeatedly  kissed  my 
knee,  each  time  with  a  higher  title.  No  man  ever  rose  from 
the  ranks  through  a  series  of  more  rapid  promotions;   and  the 


THE   TOMBS   OF   THE    KINGS 


597 


higher  I  rose,  the  more  gracious  I  found  myself  becoming. 
At  last,  she  called  me  khedive.  I  knew  then  that  I  must 
capitulate,  but  I  waited  to  see  if  she  could  do  better.  Noth- 
ing remained  but  to  prefix  adjectives,  and  this  she  did.  When 
she  cried  at  last,  "Bakshish,  O  great  and  mighty  khedive,"  I 
paid  her  a  piastre  and  let  her  go.  I  told  myself  that  I  was 
paying  to  be  rid  of  her,  but  I  am  morally  certain  that  she 
laughed  in  what  ouc^ht  to  have   been  her  sleeve,  and  told  her 


^y^  JjB«p^<^K 


rill'.  K.\.\n:si:r.M 


companions  how  another  old  goose  had  been  won  over  by 
barefaced  flattery.  O  Eve,  however  little  else  thy  daugh- 
ters inherit,  few  have  failcil  to  learn  how  the  heart  of  man 
may  be  won  by  flattery ! 

About  a  half-hour's  ride  from  the  Temple  of  llatasu  is  the 
Ramcseum,  the  large  temple,  built  in  honor  of  Anion  b\- 
Rameses  II.  The  cast  gate  of  this  temple  was  originally  two 
hundred  and  twenty  feet  broad.  The  temple  is  oiilv  partly 
preserved;  but  it  stands  like  a  great  low  cliff,  with  its  strata 
turned  to  perpen<licular.  At  the  west  gate  is  the  gigantic 
statue  of  Kameses  II.  now  in  ruins.  The  ear  is  three  and 
one-half    feet  long,  and    the  length  ^f   tin-  nail    on  the   middle 


39S  rill-:  1)1. n  woKi.n  in    iiii:  \i:w  cKATi'in' 

timber  si.-\cn  aiul  oiU'-h;ilt"  iiuhcs.  The  statute  is  believed 
te>  ha\e  weii^hetl  o\er  two  million  pounds. 

Not  far  a\\a\-  aio  tlie  next  larL;est  statues,  the  Colossi  of 
Menmon.  They  are  t\\  o  enormous  seated  figures,  each  carved 
out  of  a  single  block  oi  granite.  They  are  nearly  equal  in 
size,  ami  the  ilimensions  are  tak'en  fiom  the  south  one,  which 
is  in  better  preservation.  It  is  now  rift\'-three  feet  high,  but 
the  great  ilouble  crown  which  once  adorned  it  may  have 
brouiiiit  its  total  height  ui)  to  sixt\'-nine  feet.  The  northern 
figure  is  the  one  that  popularly  is  supposed  to  sing  at  sunrise, 
which  has  eiven  it  the  name  of  "The  Vocal  Memnon." 

Having  had  quite  enough  sightseeing  for  one  day,  and 
being  well  laden  with  our  purchases,  Abdul  and  1  turned  east- 
ward and  soon  were  ferried  back  across  the  Nile.  I  looked 
for  a  crocodile,  but  could  not  find  one;  but  I  recalled  that 
parody  on  the  busy  bee,  which,  I  believe,  first  appeared  in 
"Alice  in  Wonderland." 

How  dotli  the  little  crocodile 

Improve  his  shining  tail, 
And  iiour  the  waters  of  the  Nile 

On  every  golden  scale! 

How  cheerfully  he  seems  to  grin, 

How  neatly  spreads  his  claws, 
And  welcomes  little  fishes  in 

With  gently  smiling  jaws! 

We  spent  what  was  left  of  the  day  in  visiting  the  shops 
and  bazaars  of  Luxor,  and  the  mission  schools  under  the  care 
of  Dr.  Murch.  l^ut  one  American  church,  the  United  Presby- 
terian, has  missions  in  Egypt.  This  arrangement  is  by  mutual 
agreement  of  the  mission  boards  to  prevent  any  possible  waste 
of  money  or  conflict  of  interests  on  the  ground.  Dr.  Murch 
is  doing  a  work  which  deserves  the  highest  praise,  and  the 
sympathy  of  all  good  peo[)le  of  every  name  and  faith. 

In  my  purchase  of  scarabs  I  was  assisted  by  Dr.  Murch, 
who  knows  a  genuine  scarab  from  one  of  recent  manufacture 
the  moment  he  sets  eyes  upon  it.  Under  his  guidance  I 
purchased    several     of     these    interesting    mementoes.      The 


THE   TOMBS   OF    IHl.    KINGS 


399 


scarabaeus  is  a  beetle  not  unlike  our  American  tumble-bug. 
It  deposits  its  eggs  in  a  ball  of  dung  whose  fermentation 
imparts    sufficient    warmth    to    hatch    the    egg.      The    insect 


CLEOI'AIKA    AS    INDi;  KSTL  I  )V    I'OK    llAlIloK 


exhibits  great  care  in  rolling  this  hall  t<»  a  place  of  safety. 
The  Egyptians  saw  the  process  of  rolling  the  l)all,  and  waUluHl 
the  ball,  till  froni  the  mass  of  earth,  life  sprang  forth,  .ind 
they  adopted  the  scarabiEus  as  their  symbol  of  immortality. 
They  molded  scarabs  in  clay  or  carvid  them  out  of  precious 
stones,  and  sometimes  cut  the  cartouche  of  the  owner  on  tin- 
bottom    as  a   seal.      On    these  we   find    the    names  of   ni,in\-  of 


40C)         ini-.  oi.n  \\(^i>:li)  in   iiik  x\e\v  century 

Iv^x-pt's  kinors.  There  is  no  relic  which  oiu-  can  bring  from 
b^gypt  so  appidpri.ite  as  one  of  these  scarabs  of  assured  genu- 
ineness. The  symbol  of  eternal  life  coming  forth  to  light 
again  after  centuries  of  entombment,  is  a  token  which  any 
*'>nc  with  a  spark  of  sentiment  would  ct'rtainly  cherish. 

\\"e  left  T.uxor  late  in  the  afternoon  on  the  regular  train 
for  Cairo.  We  stopped  at  Keneh,  where  they  make  water- 
pots,  mixing  ashes  with  the  clay  to  make  the  pots  more 
porcTus.  The  evaporation  of  water  on  tlie  outside  of  the  pot 
keeps  the  temperature  of  the  water  several  degrees  lower  than 
that  of  the  air.  Boys  on  the  station  platform  sell  you  a  jar 
of  water  for  five  or  ten  cents  and  throw  in  the  jar,  which  is 
worth  the  money  even  if  one  does  not  drink  the  water. 

All  along  the  river  the  sakiehs  were  turning  and  drawing- 
water  from  the  stream  for  irrigating  purposes.  They  are 
heavy,  cumbersome  wheels,  and  the  vessels  for  raising  the 
water  are  earthen  jars  tied  onto  the  wheel,  and  not  pockets 
in  the  wheel  itself  as  one  would  expect.  Most  of  the  water  is 
dipped  in  a  l)ucket  or  jar  at  the  end  of  a  well-sweep,  raised  a 
few  feet,  and  dipped  again  by  another  sweep  above,  and  even 
bv  a  third  to  give  it  sufficient  elevation  to  flow  across  the 
level  flood  plain  of  the  Nile.  Most  of  the  Egyptians  seem 
the  reverse  of  industrious,  but  these  patient  drawers  of  water 
appear  hardly  ever  to  remit  their  laborious  vocation.  The 
passage  of  the  unfrequent  steamer  seldom  stops  them,  and 
they  rarely  raise  their  eyes  to  look  after  a  fleeting  locomotive. 
Witli  motion  as  regular  as  a  pendulum  of  a  clock  they  con- 
tinue their  weary  work.  One  could  imagine  that  they  were 
"answerers"  expiating  the  sins  of  the  dead,  and  serving  out 
the  sentence  of  the  gods  against  those  who  transgressed  in 
other  generations.  But  this  is  the  work  that  makes  Egypt 
a  fertile  and  beautiful  land  instead  of  the  dreariest  of 
deserts. 

\Ve  were  settling  down  for  the  night  when  we  stopped  at 
a  little  station,  and  some  one  tapped  on  the  window.  I  let 
it  down  and  a  man  outside  thrust  in  some  little  carved  trans- 
lucent stones  with  a  woman's  face  thereon. 


THE    TOMBS   OF   THE    KINGS  401 

"Antique!"  he  cried;  "Genuine  antique !  Show  it  to  your 
dragoman !" 

"Where  did  you  get  them?"  I  asked. 

"Denderah,"  lie  answered;   "Temple  of  Hathor." 

To  be  sure,  we  were  just  opposite  that  temple,  founded 
in  the  first  Christian  century,  b}-  one  of  the  Ptolemies.  The 
woman  who  stole  the  hearts  of  Caesar  and  Antony  posed  com- 
monly for  the  figure  of  the  goddess.  I  took  a  little  lens  from 
my  pocket  and  looked  at  the  cutting,  which  was  good  and 
clear.  I  offered  the  man  money,  and  he  took  it  gladly,  and 
the  train  started  on.  There  was  something  startling  in  being 
thus  called  back  nineteen  hundred  years  by  a  tap  on  the  car 
window,  and  haxing  thrust  into  one's  hand  a  contemporary 
portrait  of  Cleopatra.  But  this  was  very  modern  compared 
with  a  seal  that  Dr.  Murch  gave  me,  containing  the  cartouche 
of  Thothmes  I,  which  is  older  than  Moses.  One  must,  how- 
ever, be  careful  of  his  chronology  in  Egypt,  and  never  count 
anything  old  that  does  not  reach  well  back  into  the  thousands. 
Abraham  lived  a  long  time  ago,  but  when  Abraham  went 
down  into  Egypt  the  pyramids  were  alread}'  hoary  with  the 
memories  of  centuries. 


CllAPTI^R    XX1\' 
NAPLES,  POMPEII   AND   VESUVIUS 

Let  us  gratefully  remember,  whatever  ilisappoiutuients 
linger  in  i^ur  minds,  that  we  ariix'ed  in  Na[)les  the  clay  after 
the  quarantine  had  been  called  off.  We  had  word  at  Alex- 
andria that  Italy  was  quarantined  against  the  East,  for  there 
were  a  few  sporadic  cases  of  the  bubonic  i)lague  in  Egypt,  and 
there  was  all  too  good  reason  to  fear  cholera.  J  do  not  blame 
the  guartlians  of  all  Mediterranean  ports  for  their  fear  of  dis- 
ease imported  from  each  other.  But  if  each  one  wenild  clean 
its  own  disease-producing  quarters,  and  cease  to  levy  black- 
mail on  steamers,  the  results  would  be  better.  We  expected 
to  spend  four  thu's  at  anchor  in  the  Bay  of  Naples;  but  the 
health  officers  met  us  with  a  smile,  and  when  they  departed 
it  was  we  who  smiled,  for  we  were  at  liberty  to  go  ashore  at 
once.      So  we  prepared  our  baggage  for  sunny  Italy. 

The  Mediterranean  is  two  seas  in  one.  Sicily  and  Malta 
and  the  other  islands  indicate  the  line  of  the  old  geological 
break.  Right  at  this  point  Italy  puts  its  foot  into  the  situ- 
ation, and  makes  it  easy  for  a  ship  that  rounds  the  toe  to 
seek  a  harbor  about  the  ankle.  Just  about  here  is  the  Bay 
of  Naples,  dear  to  navigators  since  first  the  seas  were  sailed, 
and  lauded  by  poets  since  the  days  of  flomer  and  of  Horace. 

The  Bay  of  Naples,  thirt}'-five  miles  in  circuit,  is  in  form 
a  crescent;  and  the  islands  projecting  beyond  the  headlands, 
make  it  almost  a  circle.  Toward  the  northern  end  is  Naples, 
with  Vesuvius  fifteen  miles  to  the  south.  The  hills  that  rise 
in  green  and  purple  from  the  water's  edge  are  dotted  with 
villas  and  villages,  many  of  which  are  famous  in  song  and 
story. 

Around  this  bay  cluster  more  objects  of  interest  ami  beauty 
than   can   be   shown  by  an}-  bay  on   earth.      On    these   slopes 

402 


NAPLES,    POMPEII    AND   VESUVIUS 


403 


Caesar  and  Caligula  and  Xcro  and  Hadrian  and  Ponipev  had 
their  villas,  and  drank  of  the  wine  of  the  hillsides,  and  looked 
out  o\'er  this  beautiful  land  and  sea.  On  yonder  hill  lived 
Virgil.  There  he  wrote  his  ^neid  and  his  Georgics,  and 
there  was  his  tomb;  for  though  he  died  away  from  here,  the 
Emperor  Augustus,  who  was  with   him.  respected   his  dying 


.  ^Jlj'x^ 


r» 


L 


NAl'LES  —  STKADA    l>KL    MOLO    AND   ST.    EI.Mo'S   CASTI-K. 
Courtesy  of   Mr.   Kr.ink  C.  Clark. 


ItAV    (U-    NAI'l  i:s 


.}0.|  'rHK    OLD    WOKl.D    IN     1111,    Nl.W     CKN"n'R\- 

wish,  aiul  Imou-^Iu  his  h(uly  here  io  l)e  huiii'd  at  I'osihpo, 
,iho\'e  the  ha\-.  (h\  youilcv  \\{[]c  ishnul  of  Xisichi,  Cicero  held 
liis  hist  conference  with  ihutii'^  after  the  murder  of  Caisar. 
At  yonder  llshiiv^-town  of  To/./uoh,  neai'  the  northern 
extremity  oi  llie  i)a\-,  Paul  hiiicU'd  in  the  spring'  of  62,  after 
liis  shipwreck  anil  his  winter  at  Malta.  The  town  was  called 
I'utei^li  then,  antl  was  an  important  port. 

To  our  rii;ht,  as  we  enter  the  ba}-.  ])assini:^  between  Sor- 
rento and  Capri,  stands  \'esuvius,  lookint^  precisel}'  like  its 
pictures,  yd  i;randei';  and  near  its  base  lie  the  two  buried 
cities  that  hohl  our  imagination  with  a  grip  of  strong  fas- 
cination. And  beside  all  these,  straight  ahead  is  the  city 
itself. 

The  landscape  is  a  symphony  of  color.  The  deep  blue  of 
the  bav,  the  brilliant  a/.ure  of  the  sky,  the  varying  greens 
of  the  hillsides,  are  enhanced  by  the  reds  and  yellows  of  the 
city,  and  the  bright  and  picturestpie  attire  of  the  people. 
Those  of  the  inhabitants  who  came  out  in  boats  to  greet  us 
were  an  unclean  looking  lot,  but  it  was  interesting  to  note 
that  a  gay  cap  on  the  head  of  a  man,  or  a  flowered  kerchief 
on  the  head  of  a  woman,  redeemed  the  entire  costume  and 
made  it  picturesque.  The  people  of  Italy  know  how  to  make 
rags  attractive. 

We  were  rajiidly  loaded  into  steam  tenders,  and  ferried 
ashore.  Kach  boat  as  it  left  the  ship  was  attended  by  skiffs 
containing  little  bands  of  musicians,  who  played  for  us  on 
"•uitars  and  mandolins.  One  had  a  little  stage  constructed 
across  the  thwarts,  and  upon  this  a  girl  danced  with  forced 
abandon.  We  were  too  much  absorbed  in  the  landscape  to 
pay  much  attention  to  these  people  at  the  outset;  but  just 
as  we  were  getting  interested,  and  thinking  the  show  worth 
paying  for,  the  manager  of  the  band  gave  a  loud  ejaculation 
of  disgust,  and  letting  go  the  rope,  sought  a  more  appreciative 
audience.  So  we  completed  our  sail  without  music,  and  as 
soon  as  we  had  passed  the  custom  house,  were  ready  to  see 
the  city.  The  bay  is  so  charming,  that  had  we  not  been 
pressed   for  time,  we  could   almost  have  enjoyed   four  days  at 


NAPLES,   POMl'l-ll    AXI)   VESUVIUS 


405 


quarantine;   but  we  were  glad   and   thankful   to   set   foot   on 
shore,  and  to  inspect  the  chief  port  of  Italy. 

Naples  has  a  population  of  half  a  million,  most  of  whom 
seemed  to  be  trvintr  to  crowd  into  emitjrant  steamers  for  New 
York.  It  was  simply  appalling  to  try  to  go  on  shore  through 
the  crowds  of  unwashed  Italians,  and  to  think  that  they  would 
be  in  America  before  we  arrived.  I  have  never  seen  so 
unpromising   a  grist    of   humanity  poured    into   the  steerage 


A    M.Al'oI.lTAN    TKA.M 


hopper  to  come  out  American  citizens  as  the  crowd  \\hicli 
was  then  sailing  awa_\-  from  Naples  at  the  rate  of  .1  thousantl 
a  day.  It  pro\'ed  a  record-breaking  year  for  immigrants, 
and  1  think  that  we  saw  the  least  jiromising  of  them  all  at 
Naples. 

The  pe(»i)le  of  Naples  live  largely  in  tlie  streets.  Thou- 
sands have  no  otlu'r  home.  it  is  depressing  to  read  I  he 
statistics  of  the  homeless  class,  i)ut  it  is  less  so  to  see  the 
people  themselves.  They  are  light-hearted  and  free  from 
care,  overworked  and  indolent,  undeifed  and  buoyant.  liiey 
sleep  and  eat  and  make  thcii'  toilds  in  puijlic,  with  a  Ireedom 
that  is  sonu  limes  startling;  but  wilh  two  families  in  a  single 
room,  the  sidewalk  must  \)v  ulili/.ed.  I  pitii-d  them,  and  then 
was  reminded   how  much    pity  I    had  w.istcd  at  various   limes 


4oC^         iiii-:  oil)  \\i)Ki,i>  IN    riii:  \i:\v  ^T•:^"■^^R^■ 

ill  m\"  lito  on  ponpK'  who  ])Ossessc\l  ;i  larger  [jioportion  of  the 
thiiii;-;  thc\-  clcsircd  than  I  thil. 

There  is  soniethini;'  lialf  Oriental  in  Najjles.  Man\'  cus- 
toms reniinileil  us  that  we  were  still  on  the  shores  of  the 
Mediteiranean.  The  donke)-  is  as  indispensable  here  as  in 
Cairo.  Here  we  saw  a^ain  what  we  had  seen  everywhere 
since  Malta- — herds  of  i^oats  drixen  throuL^h  the  streets  and 
milked  before  the  doors  of  the  houses.  The  buyer  brings  out 
his  own  bottle  antl  stands  over  the  owner  of  the  four-footed 
milk  cart,  as  he  milks  into  the  l)ottle  from  between  the  goat's 
hintl  legs.  There  seemed  little  opportunity  for  the  milkman 
to  cheat,  and  that  may  be  win-  these  sellers  of  lacteal  fluid 
looked  habitually  sad.  Perhaps  they  do  not  know  that  in 
India  the  seller  of  milk  carries  a  bladder  full  of  water  up  his 
sleeve,  and  lets  it  trickle  into  the  bottle  even  while  he  milks 
before  the  purchaser's  eyes.  It  is  hard  to  be  honest  and  deal 
in  milk. 

We  first  made  our  way  to  the  National  Museum,  and  filletl 
the  street  before  it  with  our  carriages.  It  was  interesting  to 
see  the  drivers  extricating  their  vehicles  afterward.  Ours 
drove  upon  the  sidewalk  for  half  a  block,  all  unmindful  of  the 
protests  of  the  shop-keepers,  and  bumped  us  hard  at  alley- 
ways, but  got  through  without  a  breakdown. 

The  National  Museum  was  founded  in  1790,  and  has  some 
of  the  most  famous  collections  in  the  world.  To  see  its  sculp- 
ture alone  is  a  delightful  weariness.  Here  are  Venuses  almost 
without  number,  the  Capuan,  the  Callipyge,  and  an  entire 
hall  of  Venuses  besides,  with  gems  by  Praxiteles  and  Michael 
Angelo  and  the  rest.  Here  are  forms  of  surpassing  loveliness 
from  the  Baths  of  Caracalla.  Here  are  the  P^lora,  and  Gladi- 
ator, and  Bull,  and  others  from  the  I'arnese  family,  embracing 
nearly  the  entire  collection.  Every  one  wanted  to  see  the 
famous  Farnese  bull,  the  largest  antique  group  known.  It 
is  massive  and  vigorous,  but  disappointing.  The  bull's  head 
is  too  small,  and  the  posing  is  self-conscious.  The  group 
creates  surprise  rather  than  admiration.  We  saw  here  the 
celebrated   collections  from    Pompeii,  which  show  us  how  the 


NAPLES,   POMPEII   AND    \ESUV1US 


407 


Romans  lived  two  thousand  years  a<jo.  There  are  bronzes 
and  vases  and  utensils  and  frescoes  and  mosaics  to  one's 
satisfaction  and  bewilderment.  Here,  too,  we  saw  col- 
lections of  the  most  exquisite  gems;  and  here,  also,  though 
in  smaller  numbers,  a  good  collection  of  paintings  by  men 
whose  names  we  have  always  known  and  honored. 

Here  I  began  to  feel,  what  came  to  me  again  and  again  in 


^^  J^^^ 


A    MACAKtiM     l.\(    liiK\ 


the  galleries  of  Murope,  a  sympath}-  for  tlic  sad  fate  of  the 
artist  who,  steeping  himself  in  the  old  masters,  becomes  a 
copyist.  We  saw  them  in  every  gallery,  exulting  no  doubt 
that  they  had  become  artists  of  sufficient  note  to  obtain  per- 
mission to  copy  a  masterpiece.  The  rules  posted  in  the  \'ati- 
can  are  jjrobably  not  unlike  those  ol  other  great  galleries. 
The  artist  must  first  show  that  he  is  competent,  and  llun  wait 
his  turn,  for  permission  to  cop>'  out'  painting.  The  permis- 
sion is  for  three  months,  and  if  he  hnishes  his  i)ainting.  he 
cannot  have  another  picture  to  copy  until  the  time  expires. 
He   may,    however,    extend   the   time   b>'   special    pci mission. 


-}oS         'I'lii    oi.D  \V(^i>:i.n  IN   iiii:  m.w    c i:\Tr in' 

lie  imist  not  g;ossii)  noi-  sciittcr  his  inatcrials,  must  remove 
his  paiiils  ami  easel  at   ni^ht,  ami  must  observe  i;()ocl  order. 

We  saw  hiimlieds  ot  these  artists,  men  and  women,  some 
of  them  doini;'  excellent  work,  and  every  one-  of  them  ea^ei' 
to  sell  his  or  her  picture.  The)-  cannot  all  talk  English,  but 
they  are  read)'  the  moment  _\'ou  stop  to  adnn're  the  canvas  to 
paint  on  their  palette  the  price  in  lire  or  fi'ancs.  Tiie  man 
who  has  worked  three  months  on  a  painting  offers  his  picture 
for  five  luuulred  lire,  and  will  gladly  tak-e  half  that  am<nint. 
Ver}-  likely  when  his  time  is  out,  and  no  sale  has  been  made, 
he  will  take  one  hundred  for  it.  l^ut,  if  he  does  not  then  sell 
it.  he  can  take  it  to  a  dealer,  who  will  tr}'  to  sell  it  for  him, 
and  I  ha\'c  not  the  heart  to  estimate  how  little  he  finally  gets 
for  his  work.  Certain  I  am  that  one  can  buy  in  Italy  copies 
that  can  hardly  be  told  from  the  originals,  except  that  they 
are  fresher,  at  exceedingly  small  rates.  In  the  National 
Museum,  for  instance,  one  can  buy  good  copies  of  Pompcian 
pictures,  unmounted,  for  from  one  to  five  dollars  each;  and 
in  Florence  he  can  buy  excellent  copies  of  some  of  Raphael's 
Madonnas  at  from  ten  to  fifty  dollars  each,  and  these  painted 
direct  from  the  original. 

The  next  place  which  we  visited  was  the  Aquarium,  the 
most  wonderful  in  the  world.  It  is  located  in  a  narrow  park 
on  the  shore  of  the  bay,  in  the  midst  of  bright  and  varied 
foliage,  which  is  more  than  equaled  by  the  display  within. 
The  Mediterranean  is  most  rich  in  its  forms  of  marine  life. 
This  is  the  reason  for  the  establishment  of  this  museum  here, 
by  a  German  scientist.  It  has  received  appropriations  from 
the  German  government,  and  has  a  considerable  revenue  from 
admission  fees. 

There  are  more  rare  and  curious  forms  of  sea-life  here  than 
any  of  us  had  seen  before.  Some  of  them  were  uncanny  and 
grotesque.  One  womaii  said  that  she  had  never  dreaded 
drowning  so  much  as  she  did  after  seeing  what  things  the 
ocean  actually  contained;  and  one  man,  a  total  abstainer  at 
home,  who  had  taken  wine  at  luncheon,  avowed  his  intention 
of  signing  the  pledge  at  once. 


NAPLES,   POMPEII   AND    \ESUVIUS 


409 


But  the  forms  are  not  all  grotesque,  and  the  arrangement 
is  nothing  short  of  wonderful.  The  vegetable  and  animal 
forms  are  grouped  not  only  for  scientific  purposes,  but  also, 
at  least  apparently,  for  spectacular  effect.  It  was  delightful 
even  to  those  of  us  who  were  unacquainted  with  sea-life  from 
a  scientific  standpoint.  Especially  interesting  were  the  tanks 
filled  with  lower  forms  of  life,  arranged  like  cabinets  of  jewels. 


[1?  "  « i 

and  revealing  in  form  and  setting  such  color  schemes  as  would 
delight  an  artist.  From  thread-like  opalescent  bodies,  half- 
flower  and  half-jewel,  to  gorgeous  orange  and  coral-colored 
creatures,  surrounded  by  sea-plants  no  less  beautiful,  each 
cabinet  was  a  masterpiece. 

In  Naples  wc  began  to  wonder  how  a  nation  couUl  sup- 
port two  such  armies,  one  of  soldiers  and  the  other  of  priests, 
and  keep  even  so  narrow  a  inargin  as  Italy  tloes  between  itself 
and  bankruptcy.  The  soldiers  seemed  a  far  less  manly  lot 
than  we  saw  later  in  Switzerland,  hut  tiu\-  did  tluir  best  to 
appear  brave  in  their  wealth  of  plumage.  Not  till  1  s,i\\  the 
amount  of  feathers  on  their  hats  did  1  understand  why  we 
must  needs  have  chicken  on  every  Italian  bill  of  fare. 


-fio  THV.    OW  WORLD    IN     IIII'.    Xl-AV    Cl'.X'n'in' 

W'c  \isitoil  till'  (.hurclu's  oi  Naples,  (ov  it  was  Kastcr  week. 
I'hcic  wore  many  sor\  ices  in  proi^ress,  hut  no  cidwds,  as  1  luul 
cxpectotl  to  Inul.  The  Chapel  n{  St.  J.muaiius  in  the  cath- 
edral was  apparently  the  iiiost  popular  place.  lhouL;h  it  was 
not  the  time  (ov  the  licpiefaction  oi"  the  blood  of  that  saint, 
which  is  said  to  take  i)lace  miraculousK-  three  times  a  }'eai'. 
Miracles  are  still  popular  in  Italy. 

The  i^uide-books  warned  us  ai^ainst  bct^gars;  but  we  suf- 
feretl  less  fiom  them  than  we  expected.  We  entered  the  city 
w  ith  a  \isit)n  of  (^urseKes  lleeins^'  from  mobs  of  mendicants, 
and  seekint^  shelter  in  cabs  w  hile  we  bouL^ht  momentary  relief 
from  jnirsuit  1:)}'  throwing  back  handfuls  of  small  coin;  but  wc 
left  w  ith  a  feeling  that  if  we  were  in  their  ))lace  we  would 
eitlier  beg  more  or  work  at  something  more  profitable.  When 
I  saw  the  heavy  burdens  borne  by  men  and  women — young 
girls  carrying  heav}-  stones  up  steep  hills  for  paving  or  em- 
bankments, and  men  weighted  down  till  they  seemed  beasts 
of  burden, — I  wondered  that  any  of  them  stayed  in  Italy  so 
long  as  there  was  a  corner  in  the  steerage  for  America;  but 
when  I  saw  how  light  of  heart  they  were,  how  tickled  with  a 
straw  of  macaroni  or  pleased  with  the  rattle  of  a  hurdy- 
gurdy,  I  thought  that  perhaps  we  pay  a  rather  high  price  for 
the  blessings  of  our  higher  civilization. 

Even  a  funeral  procession  becomes  picturesque  in  Naples, 

thoLigli   gruesomely  so.      I  saw  two  of  them,  one   in   motion, 

and  the  other  forming  before  a  church,  the  bier  in  each  case 

followed  by  members  of  the  order  to  which  the  deceased   had 

belonged,  as  I  was  informed.     They  wore  Ku-Klux  disguises, 

mostly  of  wdiite,  but  with    fantastic   bits  of   color   thrown    in. 

It  looked  as  it  may  have  when 

"The  graves  stood  tenantless,  and  the  sheeted  dead 
Did  S{]ucak  and  gibber  in  the  Roman  streets." 

It  was  undeniably  frightful,  but  also  grotesquely  pictur- 
esque. It  is  characteristic  of  Naples,  I  think,  that  even  its 
dirt  and  poverty  are  more  than  half  attractive. 

Much    business   is   done    in    Naples.      A  good   share   of   it 
seems  to  be  transacted  in  the  great  Gallery  Umberto  I.      It  is 


NAPLES    POMPEII   AND   VESUVIUS 


411 


an  immense  arcade,  in  the  form  of  a  Latin  cross,  witli  shops 
of  ever}'  kind  lining  its  aisles.  Here  one  may  buy  gloves, 
corals,  mosaics,  statuary,  and  almost  anything  else.  The 
ladies  of  our  party  thought  it  well  to  inspect  goods  in  the 
gallery  to  get  an  idea  of  quality  and  prices,  and  to  buy  them 
in  some  of  the  smaller  shops,  where  they  were  cheaper. 
Naples,  they  said,  is  the  best  place  to  buy  gloves  and  corals. 


Till.    llnrSK    OK    I'Al'SA,    I'OMI'|-.ll 


One  may  do  both  I'ompeii  a  id  X'esuvius  in  a  da>-  if  he 
.starts  early  and  improves  his  time,  though  .1  da)-  for  each  is 
better. 

]'«)in])eii  in  its  best  days  hatl  a  population  of  only  tliirl\- 
thousand,  and  attained  glory,  as  it  could  lianll\-  haxi'  done  in 
any  other  \\a\-,  by  its  destruction.  The  cit\-  was  destroyed 
in  part  by  an  earthquake  in  6:;  A.  !)..  and  after  its  rebuilding 
was  completely  overwhelmed  1)\-  an  eruption  of  \\su\ius, 
August  24,  79  A.  I).  Not  all  tin-  peojjle  of  I'ompeii  were 
destroyed.  A  pnliniinarx-  eruption  gave  tlu-m  warning,  and 
all,  or  nearly  all,  left   the  cit\  .      I'.nt    many  returned    for  their 


|I2  iiM     oil)    WOKl.n    IN     rill-    \I-\V    CENTURY 

valuables,  .iiul  soiiu'  h.ul  n-'siinicd  ihrii'  ordinal)"  inaniicr  of 
living'  wlu'ii  tlu"  final  tlisastcr  came.  Hiilwcr  lias  <;i\'cn  us  a 
ijraphic  picture  of  the  city's  last  ila\'s,  in  his  popular  uovel, 
and  lMin\-  the  \'ounL;er,  Avho  was  an  e_\-e-\\itness,  aiul  himself 
bare!}'  escapetl.  has  left  us  a  descri]Uion  of  the  eruption. 
Pliny  was  a  lad  of  eighteen  when  the  disaster  occurred,  and 
his  descrii^ion  is  contained  in  a  letter  to  Tacitus,  the  historian. 
The  recent  horror  at  I'elee  i^ives  especial  interest  to  Pliny's 
dcsci"ii)tion  : 

It  was  alicaciv  alH)ul  seven  o'clock  in  tlic  inornin<;,  and  yet  there  was  to 
be  seen  but  a  faint  light,  like  that  of  twilight.  The  buildings  were  shaken  by 
such  heavy  shocks  that  there  was  safety  nowhere.  We  resolved  to  abandon 
ttie  city.  Arrived  witliout  the  city,  we  paused.  The  sea  seemed  to  be 
turned  back  upon  itself  and  to  retreat.  Over  against  us  a  black  and  awful 
cloud,  crinkled  with  darting,  wavy  fires,  opened,  and  showed  us  great  flames 
like  thunderbolts.  .Almost  in  an  instant  the  cloud  fell  to  earth,  covering 
the  sea.  The  ashes  began  to  fall  upon  us.  Turning  my  head,  I  perceived 
behind  a  dense  smoke,  which  was  following  us,  and  spreading  itself 
over  the  ground  like  a  torrent.  While  we  could  still  see,  I  advised  my 
■mother  to  leave  the  principal  road,  lest  the  crowd  which  was  following  in 
our  steps  should  crush  us  in  the  darkness.  Hardly  had  we  left  it,  when  the 
darkness  so  increased  that  we  seemed  to  be,  not  as  involved  in  a  black, 
moonless  niglit,  but  as  shut  in  a  chamber  where  every  light  had  been  extin- 
guished. There  was  nothing  to  be  heard  fiut  the  lamenting  of  women,  the 
wails  of  children,  and  the  shouts  of  men.  One  was  calling  a  father,  another 
a  son,  another  a  wife;  people  could  recogni/.e  one  another  only  by  the 
voice.  Many  l)esought  aid  of  the  gods;  others  fancied  that  they  no  longer 
lived,  and  f)elieved  this  to  be  the  last  and  eternal  night,  when  the  world  was 
to  disappear  into  its  grave.  At  last  this  dreadful  darkness  was  dissipated  by 
degrees,  like  a  cloud  of  smoke;  the  real  day  returned,  and  even  the  sun 
appeared,  though  very  faintly,  and  as  when  an  eclipse  is  coming  on.  Every 
object  that  presented  itself  to  our  eyes  seemed  changed,  ])eing  covered 
over  with  white  ashes,  as  with  a  deep  snow. 

Greek  influence  was  ever  strong  in  this  vicinity.  Naples 
retained  its  Greek  charter  and  Greek  speech  long  after  Rome 
had  extended  its  sway  and  taught  its  language  in  the  neigh- 
boring towns.  It  was  because  of  the  predominance  of  Greek 
thought,  that  Nero  first  appeared  on  the  stage  in  Naples, 
rather  than  in  Rome.  So  the  Roman  life  we  find  depicted  in 
Pompeii  has  the  tinge  of  contemporary  Greek  infltience.  The 
city    was   artistic   and    wealthy.      Its   life  was   luxurious   and 


NAPLES,   POMPEII    AND   VESUVIUS 


4'3 


worse  than  luxurious.  Possibly  if  its  inhabitants  had  real- 
ized how  some  things  would  look  to  us  to-day  they  would  have 
employed  their  time  between  eruptions,  not  in   securing-  their 


I'OMI'I.IAN    (.IKl 


Painting  by  Sicliel. 

valuables,  but    in  obliterating   the   evidences   of   their  shanie- 
lessncss. 

The  streets  of  Pompeii  arc  nanow,  and  p,i\cd  with  i^locks 
of  lava,  worn  in  deep  ruts  by  the  cliariot-wlieels.  We  are 
able  to  tell  from  the  chaiacter  of  the  ruius  the  original  pui- 
posc  of  most  of  tlir  buildings.  The  court  of  justice,  tin- 
theater,  the  baths,  and  tin-  market  arr  the  most  interesting:  of 
the  i)ublic  buildings;  .\  liil.-  the  Innisc  of  Pausa,  ilescribcd  in  Pul- 
wer's  "Last     Days    of    I'onipcii,"   and   a   rcccnti)-   excaxaicd 


414  I'lii    *'i,i)  woivi.i)  IN    iiii:  m;\v  ckxitrv 

liouso.  the  linost  now  to  he  seen,  are  the  most  popuhir  of 
pri\ate  residences. 

But  httle  nuM'e  than  a  thirtl  of  tlie  tow  n  is  now  excavated. 
The  i:[overnnient  is  still  exhuming,  and  each  \-ear  adds  new 
reUcs  of  the  past.  Some  private  excax'atini;-  is  done  outside 
the  walls,  ami  from  this  tligt;ini;-  there  is  sale  of  Roman  vases 
and  other  curios.  Some  of  tlie  alleL;ed  Pompeian  relics,  how- 
ever, are  reputed  spurious. 

The  houses  of  Pompeii  are  now  a  single  stor)-  in  height. 
]\Ian\-  of  them  were  higher,  but  the  exposed  stories  perished. 
On!}'  that  which  was  destroyed  was  j'jreserved.  The  ashes 
which  covered  the  place  to  the  dej)th  of  twenty  feet  doulDtiess 
did  damage  to  what  was  left  standing  above  their  level,  but 
did  not  obliterate  it.      'Pime  has  done  that. 

Tiie  interesting  thing  about  Pompeii  is  that  it  is  a  snap- 
shot at  antiquity.  There  was  no  opportunity  for  the  old 
world  to  pose,  or  hand  down  to  posterity  a  self-painted  por- 
trait of  what  it  would  like  the  future  to  think  of  it.  The 
calamity  that  came  upon  it  took  it  just  as  it  was.  There  was 
buying  and  selling,  marrying  and  giving  in  marriage,  cooking 
and  feasting,  toiling  and  sleeping,  and  the  cloud  of  ashes  that 
came  down  upon  the  town  stopped  it  all,  and  held  it  so,  till 
posterity  became  sufficiently  interested  to  look  and  see  this 
terribly  life-like  scene  of  death. 

Pompeii  is  a  place  of  unexpected  sadness.  The  silent 
streets  are  those  of  a  city  of  the  dead.  It  is  more  sad  than 
a  cemetery,  for  there  is  so  much  that  reminds  one  of  life. 
When  one  has  visited  the  empty  houses,  the  silent  forum,  and 
the  desolate  basilica,  and  returns  to  the  museum  to  see  the 
bodies  of  some  of  the  dead,  still  in  their  last  attitudes  of 
frantic  struggle  for  life,  he  feels  the  pathos  and  terror  of  it  all. 
To  me  it  w^as  one  of  the  sadtlest  places  that  I  have  ever  visited. 

Vesuvius  was  an  old  and  burned  out  volcano  when  history 
began.  It  bore  on  its  face  the  indisputable  evidence  of  a 
riotous  career,  but  had  been  on  its  good  behavior  so  long 
that  people  had  decided  not  to  mention  the  past.  The  only 
eruption  in  the  centuries  immediately  before  the  Christian  era 


NAPLES.    POMPEII   AND   VESUVIUS 


4>5 


was  that  of  Spartacus.  in  71  J].  C.  Spartacus  was  a  gladiator, 
a  slave.  He  revolted,  and  with  his  fellow-gladiators  fought 
his  way  through  the  streets  of  Capua,  defeating  with  such 
weapons  as  they  were  able  to  seize,  the  detachment  of  Roman 
soldiery  that  opposed  them.  Spartacus  made  his  home  in  the 
crater  of  Vesuvius,  and  from  time  to  time  he  and  his  band  of 
outlaws  overflowed  like  lava  upon  the  surrounding  region. 
Slaves  flocked  to  his  standard  until  he  had  one  hundred  thou- 


.\     M-.Al'i  /l.i  I  A.S     l^.\.\l>|-.L 


A    .NEAPOI.rrAN    SWAIN 


sand  men,  and  attempted  to  capture  Rome.  But  at  length 
he  was  defeated,  dying  gallantly  among  his  men.  His  was 
the  greatest  servile  insurrection  of  history,  and  was  led  by  a 
truly  great  commander,  who  performed  prodigies  of  valor  ere 
he  died.  .Six  thousand  of  his  men  were  crucified,  picketing 
with  their  crosses  the  road  from  Capua  to  Rome. 

It  was  appropriate  that  .Spartacus  made  Vesuvius  his 
rendezvous.  It  was  a  fit  place  to  remind  oppressors  that 
depressed  society  must  some  day  find  an  outlet  through  erup- 
tion. But  the  Roman  people  little  heeded  tiic  warning  either 
of  the  mountain  or  the  man.  In  time  Vesuvius  woke  up.  and 
Pompeii  went  dow  n  ;  in  time  also  the  provinces  awoke,  and  the 
Roman  empire  went  under. 

During  our  first  two  or  three  days  we  did  not  sec  Vesu- 
vius.     The   top   was  cn\  eloped    in    clouds.      Ikit   on    the  d.i\- 


4i6         TiiK  OLD  woKi.i)  IN    iiii:  m;\v  ciiN'ruuv 

wlicii  wo  \"isitc(.l  roiiijKMi  it  w  .is  in  its  ni.ijcsty.  The  early 
dawn  sliowcd  it  cMuittiiiL;  s^roat  cloiuls  of  smoke  tliat  took 
beautiful  colois  in  the  slaiitinL;  sun.  .Vs  the  tlay  wore  on  the 
cloud  L;rew  (.l.irker;  there  was  no  muttering"  or  (juaking,  but 
onl\-  the  emission  oi  steam  and  sulphui'  smoke.  A  carriage 
load  of  us  started  from  I'onipeii,  and  drove  up  the  slope. 

\'esu\-ius  is  the  property  of  Thomas  Cook.  vVt  least  he 
o\\  ns  the  means  of  ascent.  For  about  five  dollars  he  sells  a 
ticket  that  inclutles  carriage  ride  from  Pompeii  to  the  base  of 
the  cone,  ascent  of  the  cone  on  the  inclined  railway,  and 
return  by  carriage  to  Naples. 

We  drove  for  some  little  time  before  we  rose  perceptibly, 
passing  through  sev^eral  little  villages,  with  their  glimpses  of 
Italian  life,  among  them  one  that  covers  the  site  of  Hercu- 
laneum.  Ilerculaneum,  which  is  named  from  its  worship  of 
Hercules,  by  whom  it  is  said  to  have  been  founded,  was 
destroyed  in  79,  not  by  ashes  alone  as  Pompeii  was,  but  by 
ashes  and  lava.  Pompeii  was  covered  twenty  feet,  but  Ilercu- 
laneum lies  from  forty  to  one  hundred  feet  below  the  surface. 
It  has  been  partial)}'  excavated,  but  not  uncovered.  It  is 
visited  with  candles,  and  with  uncertain  gropings  down  long 
flights  of  steps,  while  Pompeii  is  open  to  the  heavens.  Pom- 
peii is  thus  far  more  easy  to  visit,  and  has  much  more  that  is 
worth  seeing. 

The  road  up  V^esuvius  is  well  graded,  and  is  an  easy  ascent 
for  passengers  in  carriages;  but  it  is  a  long,  hard  climb  for 
the  horses.  As  we  began  the  ascent,  the  little  boys  who  had 
turned  cart-wheels  beside  the  carriage  below  disappeared,  and 
in  their  place  came  little  girls  who  threw  flowers  at  us  and 
sang.  Some  of  them  sang  well,  and  all  of  them  tried  hard. 
Midway  of  the  first  climb  stood  a  cripple  with  a  barrel  organ, 
turning  the  organ  with  one  hand,  and  whistling  on  the  fingers 
of  the  other  to  the  organ  accompaniment.  1  have  never 
heard  such  whistling.  It  had  in  it  the  note  of  every  bird 
whose  call  I  could  remember.  A  little  farther  up  a  man  met 
us  with  oranges  for  sale.  He  was  entirely  dumb,  but  could 
trade  well,  and  his  oranges  were  good  and  welcome.      On  the 


NAPLES.    POMPEII    AND  VESUVIUS  417 

lower  slopes  are  vineyards,  with  little  houses  close  to  the  road, 
out  of  wliich  the  women  ran  with  bottles  and  glasses,  ofifering 
for  sale  the  wine  of  the  mountain,  which  is  called  by  the  name 
Lacrymce  Christi,  "the  tears  of  Christ."  It  is  an  appro- 
priate name  for  any  intoxicating  drink.  When  we  reach  the 
lava  of  recent  years,  vegetation  ceases.  Near  the  vegetation 
line  is  the  observatory.  Beyond  this  we  continued  to  ascend, 
over  acres  and  acres  of  lava,  till  we  reached  the  foot  of  the  ash- 
cone. 

Vesuvius  varies  from  three  thousand  nine  hundred  to  four 
thousand  three  hundred  feet  in  height,  according  to  the  con- 
dition of  the  cone,  which  melts  down  during  some  eruptions 
and  again  is  built  up  by  the  deposits  from  others.  There 
have  been  some  fifty  eruptions  since  that  which  destroyed 
Pompeii,  the  most  terrible  of  which,  in  1631,  killed  three 
thousand  people.  There  has  been  a  somewhat  continuous 
eruption  since  1895,  but  without  loss  of  life.  One  is  sur- 
prised, however,  to  see  the  volume  of  lava  that  has  flowed  in 
recent  years  toward  Naples.  It  extends  some  distance  below 
the  observatory,  and  is  curled  and  twisted  inconceivably.  It 
has  shown  singular  freaks,  too,  in  the  levels  it  has  sought; 
for,  while  in  general  it  of  course  flows  downward,  it  has  not 
always  sought  the  lowest  possible  channel,  but  lias  made  a 
track  of  its  own  in  a  somewhat  arbitrary  manner. 

An  inclined  railway  ascends  the  cone,  ami  couxcns  ten 
passengers  at  a  time.  One  car  ascends  while  another  comes 
down;  and  each  track  has  a  single  rail  on  which  the  car  bal- 
ances in  a  manner  apparently  most  insecure.  It  is  doubtless 
safer  than  it  looks,  and  I  am  able  to  certify  that  it  tloes  not 
always  destroy  the  lives  of  its  passengers. 

At  the  top  of  the  railway  one  finds  himself  at  the  end  of 
Thomas  Cook's  jurisdiction,  and  is  warned  that  the  use  of  a 
guide  to  the  crater  is  "compulsative,"  and  that  the  persons 
who  tlirust  themselves  upon  tourists  are  irresponsible.  A. 
printed  notice,  couched  in  most  remarkable  English,  warns  the 
tourist  that  if  he  employs  one  of  these  guides,  he  must  also 
pay  the   authorized   guide,  whether   he   uses   him    or   not.      I 


4iS  1111    oi.i)  woKi.n  IN    iiii'.  M.w    ei'.Nirm 

rocortl  this  intcrprrlat  ion  of  tin-  iiolicr  Iuti.',  for  few  Enylish- 
spcakiiii;'  tourists  will  bo  ahli'  to  uiulorstaiul  the  precise  niean- 
in;4  of  the  notice,  which  1  tianslaleil  fioni  \'esu\'ian  I'jvj^lish 
with  j^reat  eff(~irt. 

A  \-iolent  storm  came  up  whili-  we  were  on  tin-  mountain, 
and  we  sought  the  shelter  of  the  upper  station,  where  lii^ht- 
niu!"'  pl.u'ed  about  us,  and  liail  beat  on  the  ir(~)n  roof.  The 
sulphur  i^"as  seltleil  .il)out  us  till  we  all  coui^hed  and  choked, 
and  the  tem[)erature,  alread}'  cold,  droppetl  lower.  Wc  were 
giail  wlien  the  one-lc!::jt^ed  railroad  fcnind  room  to  take  us 
down;  and  after  refreshing'  ourselves  at  the  restaurant  at  the 
base  of  the  cone,  we  moved  toward  Naples.  It  was  Easter 
Monday,  and  a  holiday;  and  the  villai^es  throui^h  which  we 
drove  were  in  i^ala  dress.  We  had  had  the  storm  all  to  our- 
selves. Below,  the  skies  were  smiling-,  and  the  air  was  balmy. 
The  storm  was  simply  an  added  attraction  to  show^  one  of  the 
various  moods  of  ^rim,  frownini;,  muttering,  vindictive  and 
treacherous  Vesuvius. 

We  left  the  shi])  at  Naples.  Many  of  our  party  continued 
on  the  vessel  to  Villefranche,  and  thence  departed  across 
Europe.  We  met  many  of  them  later,  and  looked  among 
them  for  the  man  who  broke  the  bank  at  Monte  Carlo.  He 
is  still  unidentified  among  them,  but  all  agree  that  the  Riviera 
is  charming,  and  that  we  who  did  not  go  on  to  that  point 
missed  a  great  deal.  Erom  the  top  of  Vesuvius  we  saw  the 
Celtic  depart  from  Naples  with  our  friends  on  board,  and  a 
real  feeling  of  loneliness  came  over  us.  But  we  kept  meeting 
our  friends  all  the  way  across  the  Continent.  Many  continued 
on  the  ship  to  Liverpool.  Each  group  seemed  confident  that 
it  had  made  the  best  use  of  the  time;  and  those  who  stayed 
by  the  ship  declare  that  the  seven  days'  rest  were  none  too 
long  after  their  weeks  of  active  sightseeing. 


CHAPTER    XXV 
ROME,  THE    ETERNAL    CITY 

I  am  proud  to  belong  to  that  select  company  whose  mem- 
bers may  induge  in  such  introductories  as,  "When  I  was  in 
Naples  the  first  time,''  and  "When  I  was  last  in  Rome." 
After  a  brief  look  at  Naples,  I  went  to  Rome,  returning  after 
three  days  for  another  peep  at  \'esuvius,  and  coming  back 
again  to  Rome  for  a  final  look  and  review.  So  I  have  twice 
visited  those  cities,  and  shall  never  feel  humiliated  henceforth 
in  the  presence  of  those  who  affect  to  despise  a  man  who  has 
been  abroad  but  once.  I,  too,  can  mildly  hint  the  plural, 
though  not,  I  hope,  with  the  same  assurance  and  affectation 
of  superiority. 

From  Naples  to  Rome  is  162  miles  by  rail.  The  scenery 
to  us  was  chiefly  attractive,  after  Egypt  and  Palestine,  for  its 
wide  sweeps  of  verdure,  its  vineyards,  and  its  fields,  well  culti- 
vated to  the  verv  car-wheels.  There  may  be  a  weed  somewhere 
in  Italy,  but  T  did  not  see  it.  The  trees,  however,  were  a 
sorry  looking  lot.  For  some  reason  the  owners  cut  them 
back  each  season  to  stumps  a  dozen  feet  in  height,  with  bare 
knobby  limbs  projecting  a  little  distance  in  the  air — a  pathetic 
appeal  for  artificial  legs  and  petticoats.  These,  doubtless, 
were  soon  forthcoming  in  the  new  growth  of  spring;  but  what 
we  saw  of  Italy's  forest  growth  was  not  insi)iring.  The 
trees  suffer  from  an  excess  of  the  nude  in  art.  I  Un-,  as 
everywhere  we  had  been,  we  felt  sure  that  the  people  suffer 
for  lack  of  fuel.  houbtless  we  in  America  overheat  our 
houses,  but  we  seem  to  have  a  monopoly  of  that  fault. 

Some  one  had  a  contract  to  serve  a  lunch  to  us  all  on  the 
special  train  that  conveyed  us  to  Rome.  This  was  when  1 
first  visited  Rome.  1  do  not  know  that  contractor,  but  if  he 
could   come   to  America  and   get   a  CfMitract   in   sonu-   ol    our 

419 


\2o         ■nil-.  (M.n  WDKi  n  i\    iiii:  ni:\v  cknturv 

cities,  he  wouKl  ui.iki'  his  tortuiu'.  I  woulcl  icconiiiuiul  the 
p.ixiuL;'  departniont.  lie  wouUl  h.i\'c  ;i  L;(iod  stock  of  material 
in  the  biscuits  which  wt-  left.  I^ach  w.is  sliced  halt  in  two,  1 
know  not  with  what  kind  of  we.ipon  -the  two-handed  sword 
of  some  oKl  Crusader,  possibly — and  a  thick  chuidc  of  boiled 
mutton  inserted.  And  e.ich  of  us  had  a  bottle  of  wine — most 
of  us  being  total  abstainers! 

It  may  be  sui)posed  that  when  we  got  to  Rome  our  first 
grateful  emotion  was  the  sight  of  some  notable  antiquity  in 
the  City  of  the  Seven  Mills;  not  at  all.  We  got  in  at  midnight, 
and  in  a  warm  rain,  and  had  a  tussle  to  get  our  belongings 
through  the  inspector's  office  and  into  the  carriages;  and 
when  w^e  got  to  the  hotel  they  had  dinner  ready  for  us  at 
midnight.  It  was  good.  And  the  last  course — I  know  I 
shall  not  be  believed,  but  I  speak  truly — the  last  course  was 
a  lemon  sherbet,  as  good  as  I  ever  ate  at  home.  On  a  warm, 
wet  night,  after  such  a  meal  on  the  train,  and  after  months  in 
an  ice-creamless  part  of  the  world,  I  have  no  words  to  express 
our  joy.  If  the  Imperial  Band  had  met  us  at  the  station  and 
played  the  Star  Spangled  Banner,  it  would  not  have  been  so 
grateful  a  reminder  of  home.  Each  meal  thereafter  we  looked 
for  more,  and  it  never  came;  we  ought  to  have  known  better 
than  to  expect  it.  But  no  subsequent  lack  could  efTace  the 
blissful  memory  of  that  delicious  pile  of  frigid  ecstasy,  passed 
in  a  large  dish,  from  which  each  helpctl  himself.  It  melted 
away  like  a  snowflake  in  Vesuvius.  No  wonder  the  proprietor 
never  had  courage  to  ofTer  us  more. 

The  hotels  of  Rome  are  comfortable.  (^urs  had  steam 
heat.  It  was  much  rarefied,  but  one  could  feel  that  the  [)ipes 
were  warm  if  he  put  his  hands  on  them.  Our  hotel  also  had 
an  elevator,  which  was  operated  by  a  man  on  the  ground 
floor.  It  was  supposed  to  be  able  to  carry  up  four  people, 
but  I  went  up  wdth  one  stout  woman,  and  we  both  agreed 
that  there  was  one  too  many  of  us.  On  each  floor  a  sign  was 
posted  saying  that  we  w^ere  expected  to  walk  dowMi,  and  to 
use  the  elevator  only  for  ascending.  The  hotel  with  a  "lift" 
is  very  proud  of  the  fact,  and   makes  much  of   it  in  its  adver- 


ROxME,   nil.    KTERNAL   CITY 


4-1 


tisements.  I  saw  largo  hotels  in  various  places  with  the  words 
"Hydraulic  Lift"  painted  across  the  whole  front  of  the  estab- 
lishment, and  conspicuously  displayed  in  all  advertisements, 
whose  "lift"  would  hardly  have  made  a  respectable  bird-cage. 


1 1 1 1'. 


AK>    II     III-      Mil 


Electric  light  is  a  convenience  which  they  use  sparingly  in 
all  European  and  Eastern  hotel:,,  where  they  use  it  at  all,  but 
they  do  not  forget  to  put  it  in  the  hill.  To  see  tin-  large 
space  which  the  light  covers  on  the  bill,  and  the  feeble  glow 
which  it  sheds  about  the  room,  vexes  one's  sense  of  tlu-  fitness 
of  things.  I3etweLn  the  two  is  a  sad  lack  of  proportion. 
When  there  are  two  electric  lights  in  one  room  they  arc  wired 


422  nil     Oil)    WORM)    IN     llll':    NI'AV    cknitrv 

to  a  single  switch  in  such  a  \\a\'  that  when  due  is  turnctl  on 
the  other  turns  ott  automatically. 

One  docs  not  realize  it  so  much  at  tlie  time  as  on  liis 
return,  but  there  is  little  ice  cut  on  the  other  side  of  the  water 
in  coniparisi>n  with  our  use  of  it  at  home.  Those  who  had 
ice  at  Rome  IkuI  to  pay  extra  for  it. 

They  must  use  ice  in  the  preparation  of  their  butter,  how- 
ever. They  flatten  it  out  into  a  little  thin  wafer,  and  roll  it 
loosely,  very  loosely,  so  that  what  looks  as  large  as  a  hickory- 
nut  could  be  put  into  a  thimble,  and  leave  room  in  abundance. 
The  little  rolls  come  to  the  table,  crisp  and  inviting,  but  never 
sufficiently  abundant  for  a  man  to  have  two.  They  are  sweet 
and  unsalted,  and  one  wishes  he  had  more,  but  he  seldom 
o-ets  it.  What  there  is  of  it  is  good,  but  the  roll  is  a  hollow 
mockery  and  a  delusion.  In  Scotland  they  make  the  butter 
up  into  solid  little  rolls  with  a  pair  of  wooden  paddles  called 
"hands,"  but  on  the  Continent  the  balls  are  hollow  convolu- 
tions filled  with  thin  air. 

One  of  our  ladies  wondered  why  we  never  had  cream,  and 
asked  a  gentleman  who  was  to  the  manner  born  and  who 
spoke  good  English,  the  reason,  since  we  were  manifestly  in 
a  dairy  country. 

Said  he,  "They  have  cream,  but   it  is  all   performed   into 

cheese." 

The  cheese  is  a  rank  performance,  and  deserves  to  be 
hissed  off  the  stage.  The  same  man  might  truthfully  have 
said  that  the  cream  is  perfumed  into  cheese. 

There  is  one  gentleman  connected  with  the  hotels  of  the 
Continent  and  the  East  who  is  a  real  blessing.  He  is  called 
the  concierge.  He  sits  near  the  door  in  uniform,  and  subsists 
on  the  fees  of  the  guests,  and  earns  them.  He  calls  carriages, 
assists  in  making  bargains  with  drivers,  gives  information, 
sends  telegrams  and  translates  the  answers,  sends  out  packages 
to  the  laundry  and  returns  the  clean  linen,  and  does  many 
other  things.  He  is  also  a  polite  eavesdropper,  and  when 
you  come  into  the  hotel  and  look  about  for  your  friends,  he 
is  ready  to  say  to  you  ;   "I  hear  monsieur  say  he  will  go  to  ze 


ROME,   THE    ETERNAL   CITY 


-0 


.-^'^-^•'em 


TIIK    KUKIM.      TIIK    COI^ossKIM 
Courtesy  of   Mr.   Frank  C.  Clark. 


bank-a,  and  mad.uiimc  sa>-  she  will  l)ii\-  some:  -lovfs  in  zc 
Corso,  and  niccl  him  when  he  rctinn-a;  and  zcyoim^'-a  ladies 
say  zay  will-a  t;o  to  ze  Barbcrini,  an'  wail  for  nmnsiciir  and 
madam  inc." 


l-'l  riiK  OLD  \\(^i-:i  n  IN    iiii-  Ni'.w  ci-'.N'rrm' 

This  is  piocisi'K'  what  you  wisli  to  U'.ini  ;  .md  nou  have 
choice  of  sitting  ami  writiiii;'  a  fiw  postal-cards  till  monsieur 
.iml  nuulanuiu'  return,  or  of  i;oini;  t(^  the  Barberini  and  look- 
ing;- in  the  mirror  at  Guide's  Aurora  in  the  ceiling  till  your 
friends  leather  there.  Or.  if  \-ou  are  not  (|uitt'  fi'esh  in  your 
knowledge  of  Roman  history,  you  may  reatl  this  little  outline 
to  refresh  your  memory  while  you  wait: 

Rome  is  said  to  have  been  founded  in  753  B.  C.  Roman 
chronolog}-  begins  with  this  tlate.  The  letters  "A.  U.  C," 
used  to  designate  the  Roman  chronology,  mean,  ''from  the 
founding  of  the  city."  The  Vestal  Rhea  Sylvia,  loved  by  the 
god  Mars,  was  burned  alive  as  a  penalty,  and  her  twin  boys 
were  thrown  into  the  Tiber.  They  floated  ashore  at  the  foot 
of  the  Palatine  Hill,  and  were  nursed  by  a  she-wolf,  and  pre- 
served alive.  The  two  set  out  to  build  a  city,  and  counted 
birds  for  the  privilege  of  naming  it.  Romulus,  favored  by 
the  gods,  sau^  more  birds  than  Remus,  and  excited  the  jeal- 
ousy of  Remus,  his  brother,  so  that  he  despised  the  city  and 
leaped  over  the  wall,  for  which  insult  Romulus  killed  him. 
Such  is  the  old  legend  about  the  building  of  Rome.  It  is  in- 
teresting to  note  how  often  the  story  of  Cain  is  repeated 
in  literature,  and  the  murderer  of  his  brother  becomes  the 
founder  of  a  city. 

Rome  was  actually  founded  at  a  date  unknown,  but  earlier 
than  that  assigned  by  the  tradition.  Three  tribes  combined  to 
make  the  town,  and  these  occupied  three  of  the  famed  hills 
of  the  future  city;  these  were  the  Ramnes  of  the  Palatine, 
the  Tities  of  the  Capitoline,  and  the  Lucres  of  the  Ccelian 
hills.  The  third  tribe  came  last  into  the  confederacy ;  between 
the  other  two  were  the  first  battles  and  the  first  agreement. 
In  the  early  days,  while  Romans  and  Sabines  were  still  at 
strife,  a  marshy  flat  between  the  Capitoline  and  Palatine  hills 
was  neutral  ground.  Here  trading  was  done,  treaties  were 
made,  and  meetings  were  held.  Here  were  established 
temples,  theaters,  and  other  places  of  convocation,  and  in 
time  triumphal  arches  and  prisons  were  added  for  the  victors 
and   the  vancjuished.      Here,  later,  was   set   the   central   mile- 


ROME,   THE    ETERNAL   CITY 


4- 


stone,  the  "navel"  of  the  empire  that  came  to  be.  When 
the  city  finally  was  established  and  bounded  by  its  walls,  it 
was  somewhat  nearly  square,  antl  occupied  seven  hills. 

Other  tribes  came  in,  and  doubtless  fugitives  of  no  particu- 
lar tribe,  as  the   city  grew  stron^-,  and   began  to  gather  about 


llli:    AK(  II    OF   CONSTANTINK 


it  a  country — for  here  the  capital  was  hrtorc  the  counlr}-. 
These  newer  arrivals  received  their  lesser  pii\  ileges  gladly  for 
a  time;  but  soon  it  became  evident  that  ihr  representatives 
of  the  older  families  possessed  the  elements  that  gave  tluin 
almost  a  monopoly  of  power — small  numbi-rs.  authority, 
privilege  ami  wealth.  On  the  other  si<lr  was  mass,  'llu- 
common  people  grew  wear\-  of  lighting  the  battles  and  tiidur- 
ing  the  labors  of  the  city  and  reviving  small  returns.  Origi- 
nally a  kingdom,  Rome  li.id  become  a  republic,  with  tli<- 
power   in    tlu:   hands   of    an    oligarchy.       The    peoi)le    became 


.\26         rill    (Mi)  \\(M^:l.n  i\    iiii'.  ni^'.w  cI'.nii'kn' 

cl.unoi'Uis  lor  mon'  rights,  aiul  (ov  two  centuries  contimicd 
to  clamor,  till  the  ]ialriciaiis  yicldcil  to  the  plebeian;;  a  defi- 
nite share  in    the  L;o\ei mnent. 

l->ut  Rome's  troubles  w  ere  not  at  .m  end.  Idle  peo[)le  had 
power,  but  used  it  fitfully,  sullenl)-,  and  uiuKm'  the  c^uidance 
of  domai^ogues.  Slavei)-  was  powerful,  and  free  labor  had 
merciless  competition.  It  became  tin-  i)olic>'  of  government 
to  appease  the  populace  with  amusements  rather  than  redress 
their  wrongs;    and  the  republic  met  its  doom. 

Then  came  the  empire,  under  Julius  Caesar,  unnamed  as 
king  and  uncrowned,  but  first  and  greatest  of  the  emperors 
of  Rome.  There  was  a  revival  of  power,  and  a  better  adminis- 
tration of  law.      Hut  the  nation  was  rotten  at  the  core. 

Then  came  a  re\ival  of  strength  from  a  most  unlooked-for 
source.  Christianity,  starting  in  an  obscure  corner  of  the 
empire,  spread  along  the  great  imperial  roads,  till  it  estab- 
lished itself  in  the  very  capital,  and  became  a  tremendous 
power.  The  pure  lives  of  the  disciples,  the  exalted  system 
of  teaching,  the  inspiring  hopes  held  out  to  men  both  as  indi- 
\idualsand  as  a  race,  and  the  unapproachable  character  of  Him 
of  whom  the  early  disciples  witnessed,  often  with  their  lives, 
gave  the  gospel  power,  and  seemed  to  give  to  Rome  new 
strength.  In  time  it  became,  indeed,  the  official  religion  of 
the  empire,  and  that  within  three  centuries  after  the  cruci- 
fixion. This  was  a  marvelous  and  a  beneficent  overturning. 
Well  might  those  who  saw  it  in  progress  cry  out,  "These  that 
have  turned  the  world  upside  down  are  come  hither  also!" 

But  as  the  Church  grew  strong  within  the  State,  and  reli- 
gion became  overgrown  bv  a  svstem  half-ecclesiastical,  half- 
political,  there  came  discord,  corruption  and  paralysis,  partly 
in  the  state,  in  spite  of  the  Church,  and  partly,  alas,  within  the 
Church  itself.  Then  came  the  Goths  and  Vandals,  and  none 
too  soon;  and  the  Western  Roman  Empire  fell.  Other 
things  have  hapi)ened  since  then ;  but  these  are  the  things 
which  we  recall  when  first  we  enter  Rome,  and  try  to  remem- 
ber what  makes  this  city  on  the  Tiber  so  well  worth  visiting. 

If  this  book  has  am-  claim  to  distinction,  it  is  that  it  omits 


ROME,   THE    ETERNAL   CITY 


4-7 


certain  phrases  so  excellent  that  everybody  quotes  them.  It 
is  well,  however,  to  call  attention  to  some  of  the  omissions. 
All  books  about  Rome,  written  for  the  instruction  of  the 
tourist,  contain    the  statement   that    Rome  was  not   built  in  a 


INTKKH  il<    I  M      ^  \IN  I'    ri'.  11-  K  S 


clay,  and  cannot  be  seen  in  a  day.  This  also  is  the  stercotypcii 
introduction  of  the  lecturer  who  explains  the  chief  points  of 
interest.  Whether  koine  can  be  seen  in  a  day  depends  some- 
what on  who  is  seeing  it,  and  how  he  fjocs  at  it.  Konu-  can- 
not be  seen  in  a  da\'  by  sitting;  about  the  hotel  and  wondering; 
whether  it  is  likely  to  rain,  and  whether  it  W(ndil  not  be  well 
to  postpone  sightseeing  till  it  clears  up.  The  man  with  a 
day  must   get  out  in    season  and    keej)   going.      i'our   d.iys  or 


•1-v^  rill    oi.n  \\(»KTi)  IN    riii:  niw  ci'N'i'um' 

a  week  will  show  tlu-  iiulusti  ions  toiiiist  who  knows  a  little 
about  the  cit\"  the  chief  points  of  inti'iest.  \\\'  were  there 
loss  than  a  week  alto<;ethei\  but  we  visitetl  Si.  I'. mi's  three 
times,  the  Witic.in  twice,  ami  paid  several  visits  to  the  l^'oiuni, 
the  Colosseum,  anil  while  sorely  desiriiiL;-  more  time,  saw  most 
of  the  thin^i's  that  we  cared  most  to  see.  'I'he  principal  street 
in  Rome  is  the  Corso.  It  runs  somewhat  nearl_\'  north  and 
south,  and  approximately  parallel  with  the  Tiber.  The  j^rin- 
cipal  hotels  are  on  or  near  the  Corso.  At  its  northern  end  is 
the  Piazzo  del  Populo,  a  great  open  oval  at  the  base  of  the 
Pincian  Ilill.  From  here  one  may  make  his  preliminary  sur- 
vey of  the  ground  to  be  covered,  and  keeping  his  general 
course  down  the  Corso,  make  excursions  to  the  right  and  left 
to  points  of  special  interest  indicated  on  the  map.  Thus  he 
will  keep  his  bearings  without  difficulty,  and  attain  the  first 
joy  of  sightseeing.  He  will  do  well  to  hire  a  carriage.  The 
fare  is  not  high,  even  when  one  adds  the  fee  to  the  driver.  If 
one  ever  gets  lost  in  Rome  he  has  only  to  call  a  cab  and  name 
his  hotel,  and  he  will  soon  be  there.  Then  he  can  take  his 
bearings  and  start  anew.  It  is  most  annoying  to  lose  one's 
sense  of  location,  and  in  Rome  it  is  needless.  The  Corso 
ends  at  the  great  transverse  thoroughfare,  which  crosses  the 
Tiber.  Nearly  opposite  the  intersection  is  Trajan's  P^orum, 
with  its  column.  Here  one  may  dismiss  his  carriage,  and  do 
his  sightseeing  on  foot  for  a  time.  Trajan's  P'orum  was  once 
a  narrow  ridge  from  the  Ouirinal  Hill  to  the  Capitoline,  rising 
to  the  height  of  the  column  which  now  adorns  the  open 
space.  Trajan  removed  the  ridge  in  A.  D.  114,  and  here 
erected  public  buildings.  Only  a  part  of  the  Forum  has  been 
excavated.  The  chief  ornament  is  Trajan's  Column  erected 
in  honor  of  that  emperor's  successful  campaigns.  It  is  a 
masterpiece  of  historic  sculpture,  the  work  of  Apollodorus. 
It  consists  of  thirty-four  marble  blocks  covered  with  a  series 
of  bas-reliefs  extending  from  the  base  to  the  top,  and  exhibit- 
ing not  less  than  two  thousand  figures.  Trajan  is  buried 
below  it,  and  his  statue  formerly  crowned  its  summit;  but 
now  a  statue  of   Peter,  placed   there  by  Pope   Sixtus  V,  sur- 


ROME,  THE    ETERNAL   CITY 


429 


mounts  it.  It  would  make  Trajan's  bones  turn  in  their  tomb 
if  he  knew  that  his  effi<^y  had  been  displaced  by  that  of  a 
Christian. 

This  is  not  the  only  such  change  that  Rome  has  witnessed. 


A    CONSTAM    .scKM 


I .   11   II  I 


A  monument  very  similar  t<i  Trajan's  in  ai)i)earancc  is  that  [n 
Marcus  Aurclius  in  the  Piazza  Colonna.  This  is  surmountctl 
by  a  statue,  not  of  the  emperor  who  persecuted  the  Christians 
and   wrote    fine    precepts    the   while,    hut    of   St.    Paul.      Still 


\^o         'niK  oi  It  \V(M<i,i)  IN    Tin:  m:\\'  c"i:\ri'm' 

ai;"ain  was  Aurclius  ilcfiaiulcil  o\'  his  just  fame  at  the  expense 
of  a  Christian,  and  that  all  iinw  ittin^ly.  The  only  [)erfect 
equestrian  statue  o\  the  twenty-two  that  adorned  ancient 
Rome  is  that  of  Marcus  Auielius.  now  in  the  Piaz/.o  Capito- 
h"ne.  The  only  reason  it  escaped  the  crusade  against  heathen 
art  was  the  popvdar  supposition  that  it  represented  Constan- 
tine,  the  first  Christian  emperor. 

The  Roman  Forum  originated  thus.  When  tlie  Romans 
occupied  the  Palatine  IT  ill  and  the  Sahines  the  Capitoline,  a 
marsh  that  lay  between  them  was  utilized  in  times  of  peace  as 
a  trading-place.  This  neutral  swamp  became  the  center  of 
Rome,  commercially  and  politicall}'.  About  it  was  con- 
structed a  porticc^  with  shops  below  and  tax-collectors'  offices 
above;  and  when  these  were  destro\^cd  b}-  fire,  the  whole  was 
rebuilt  in  temples,  theaters,  and  other  public  buildings.  It 
continued  until  the  eleventh  century,  wlien  it  was  destroyed 
b}^  Robert  Guiscard,  and  became  a  waste.  Refuse  was  piled 
upon  it  and  it  was  built  over.  It  has  been  excavated  now, 
twenty-six  feet  of  rubbish  having  been  removed. 

As  one  stands  at  the  northwestern  end  of  the  Forum,  and 
looks  down  it,  he  is  close  to  the  Arch  of  Septimius  Severus, 
and  looks  toward  that  of  Constantine.  The  latter  is  mostly 
stolen  from  the  Arch  of  Trajan;  but  the  theft  was  avenged 
in  the  sixteenth  century  by  Lorenzo,  the  assassin  of  Alex- 
ander de  Medici,  who  decapitated  every  statue  on  the  arch 
except  one.  The  Arch  of  Septimius  Severus  was  erected  in 
205  A.  D.,  by  the  Senate  to  the  Emperor  Septimius  and  his 
sons  Caracalla  and  Geta.  On  the  death  of  the  father,  the  two 
sons  -were  proclaimed  joint  emperors;  but  Caracalla  murdered 
his  brother,  and  reigned  for  six  cruel  years.  The  memory  of 
this  domestic  tragedy  comes  strikingly  home  to  the  reader 
of  the  inscription  on  the  arch.  Its  fourth  line  originally  con- 
tained the  name  of  Geta,  but  Caracalla  erased  it,  and  forbade 
it  to  be  spoken  in  Rome.  To  this  day  the  very  stone  in  its 
mutilation  cries  out  against  the  fratricide. 

Around  the  Forum  cluster  the  ruins  of  the  Temple  of 
Concord,  which    witnessed   one   concord    and    many    discords. 


ROME,   THE    ETERNAL   CITY 


431 


It  was  built  in  38S  B.  C.  to  commemorate  the  conclusion'of 
the  struggle  between  the  patricians  and  the  plebeians.  It 
became  the   Senatorial    Hall,   where   many   a   stormy   debate 


^-         "rt-itfii^ii.    JI 

B^^^^^^^^v      ^^^^^^1  ^B^9^h'  ^^v.^^^1 

1 

%^^- 

-   I'^i 

r  > 

•^'^ 

jl 

Tilt:    TKANSFIOUKATION,    HV    K  A  I'll  AKL— VATICAN 

occurred,  and  where  Cicero  poured  out  the  torrents  of  his 
invective  against  Cataline.  Close  by  is  the  temple  of  \'espa- 
sian,  of  which  only  three  marble  columns  remain;  and  near 
this,  the  eight  granite  Ionic  columns  of  the  Temple  of  Saturn. 
Other,  and  hardly  less  interesting,  ruins  are  on  both  siiles  of 
the  ^^)rum  as  one  looks  down;  and  the  tourist  will  soon 
descend   gladly  and  vi.w  them    in    detail.      I^ut    he   must    not 


4.^-  I'Hl".    Ol.n    WDUl.D    IN     rill.    M-.W     (JKN'ri'KV 

fail  {o  note  [he  "na\cl,"  the  ci-iitral  inilcsttiiu'  o{  the  Roman 
workl,  near  the  Aich  of  Septiniius ;  nor  to  \isit  the  Maninier- 
tine  prison  close  at  hanil.  A  chinch  now  stands  above  it, 
ami  the  priests  are  conrteous,  and  aie  pleased  with  a  small 
fee.  Thex-  lij^ht  a  candle  and  take  one  down  into  the  horrible 
pit.  There  is  a  stairwax'  now,  bnt  ori^inall)'  there  was  a  ronnd 
hole  at  the  top.  and  throu;4h  this  another  hole  into  the  lower 
pit,  antl  from  this  hut  one  exit,  antl  that  into  the  Cloaca 
Maxima,  the  ancient  and  still  used  sewer  of  Rome.  Alas, 
this  exit  was  often  used  in  the  cruel  days  of  old;  for  many  a 
man  let  down  through  the  floor  above  was  strangled  and  his 
hotly  throw  n  intc^  the  sewer.  There  is  a  sjjring  in  the  prison 
which  is  saitl  to  have  sprung  up  when  Peter  and  Paul  were, 
imprisoned  there.  We  do  not  know  that  they  were  ever  in 
this  prison;  hut  the  legend  adds  its  own  horrible  interest  to 
the  place.  This  is  one  of  the  si)ots  which  no  one  can  charac- 
terize so  well  as  Hawthorne,  who  said  of  it: 

Methinks  there  cannot  be  in  the  world  another  such  an  evil  den,  so 
haunted  witli  black  memories  and  indistinct  surmises  of  guilt  and  suffering. 

Beyond  the  Forum  is  another  arch,  that  of  Titus.  It  has 
a  special  interest  for  Bible  students,  for  it  was  erected  to 
commemorate  the  capture  of  Jerusalem.  Among  the  trophies 
of  war,  as  the  arch  displays  them,  arc  the  silver  trumpets  and 
the  seven-branched  candlestick  from  the  temple  at  Jerusalem. 
I'^or  centiuies  each  new  pope,  on  his  way  to  be  installed,  met 
the  Jews  of  Rome  at  this  arch,  and  compelled  them  to  swear 
allegiance  to  his  government.  The  last  two  popes  have  omit- 
ted this  humiliation  of  a  homeless  people,  an  act  much  to  the 
credit  of  Pius  IX  and  Leo  XIII.  No  Jew  loves  this  arch, 
and  it  is  said  that  no  member  of  that  race  will  willingly  pass 
under  it. 

Where  now  the  Colosseum  stands,  Nero  had  an  artificial 
lake,  and  around  it  vineyards  and  wide  effects  in  landscape 
gardening.  Here  he  did  more  wicked  deeds  than  it  is  pleas- 
ant to  remember,  and  here  deeds  quite  as  wicketl  were  to  be 
performed  afterward.  Titus  drained  the  lake,  and  Vespasian, 
his   father,  set   thousands   of   his   cai)tive   Jews   to  work   on  a 


ROME,   THE    ETERNAL   CITY 


great  oval  building  covering  six  acres,  which,  when  complete, 
was  dedicated  to  Titus  in  a  series  of  fights  lasting  one  hundred 
days.  Until  405,  when  gladiatorial  contests  were  abolished 
by  Honorius,  the  arena  of  the  Colosseum  ran  red.  After  a 
time   it  was   used  as  a  fortress,    and    then    as   a   quarry,  from 


1111    I  \  \  1 1 1 1 


K 1 1 M  I-. 


whose  ruins  hundreds  of  buildings  were  constructed.  Then 
it  becanu-  .1  woolen  factor)-,  tluii  a  saltpeter  estal)lishmcnt. 
and  then,  in  1750,  a  church,  consecrated  to  the  martyrs  who 
had  fallen  here.  It  filU  one  with  profound  (motions  to  stand 
wi.thin  its  walls,  and  reniember  the  work  thai  was  wrought 
through  the  blood  of  those  who  suffereti  her«  . 

A  short  carriage  drive  beyonil  the  Colosseum  is  the  t  huich 
of  Saint  John  Later.m.  In  ecclesiastical  rank  it  stands  even 
ahead  of  St.  Pctrr's.       IIiic  for  centuries  the  popes  ha\'c  been 


l,vi  rill-   oil)  WORLD  IN  nil    Ni:w  ciinitun' 

installed.  It  is  ■"ilu^  nuUlu-r  of  ;ill  cluirchcs"  of  the  Romish 
faith.  1  \'isitcil  this  cluireh  on  (Ic^od  I'richu',  ami  heard  the 
e.xcjuisite  passion  nuisic.  suiil;  to  a  crowtl  o(  llunisands  of 
reverent  people,  who  had  to  stantl  durin;^  the  service.  It 
was  the  most  beautiful  and  a[)pi-o[)riate  observance  of  Iloly 
Week  that  came  to  me. 

Not  far  away  is  the  Santa  Scala  ;  and  here  were  thousands 
of  pilL;rims  ascending;  the  stair  that  they  believe  to  have  been 
a  part  of  Pilate's  house,  and  so  that  tlown  which  Jesus  passed 
to  his  crucifixion.  The)'  must  ascend  this  stair  on  their  knees. 
It  was  on  this  stair  that  Luther  heard  in  his  soul  the  message, 
"The  just  shall  live  by  faith."  There,  in  his  heart,  the 
Reformation  was  begun. 

Another  church  which  one  must  visit  is  that  of  St.  Peter 
in  Vinculo.  Here  they  show  a  part  of  the  chain  which  Peter 
may  have  worn,  l^ut  here  they  show  something  more  surely 
authentic,  Michael  Angelo's  Moses.  In  the  Church  of  Min- 
erva I  saw  Angelo's  Christ  bearing  the  cross.  The  figure  is 
effeminate,  and  the  cross  is  a  toy.  The  great  sculptor  failed, 
as  all  artists  fail,  on  the  figure  of  Christ.  But  his  Moses  is 
every  inch  a  man. 

We  visited  St.  Paul's  without  the  gate.  It  is  a  singularly 
beautiful  structure,  but  wathout  the  slightest  suggestion  of 
spiritual  warmth.  Things  seem  built  for  show.  It  is  far 
from  the  masses  and  the  needs  of  men  ;  and  its  gold  decora 
tions  and  its  malachite  altar  proclaim  an  ostentation  of  reli- 
gion without  its  depth  and  fervor. 

I  visited  Saint  Peter's  three  times,  and  with  great  satisfac- 
tion. It  is  a  trulv  beautiful  building,  and  has  about  it  an  aii' 
that  inspires  reverence.  I  was  not  minded  to  follow  the 
example  of  the  hundreds  whom  I  saw  kissing  the  toe  of  the 
bronze  image  of  Peter;  I  never  failed  to  wonder  how  any  of 
those  intelligent-looking  ones  could  do  that ;  but  I  joined  in 
the  spirit  of  the  worship.  I  was  there  first  on  Good  Friday, 
and  the  mosaics  were  covered,  and  the  lights  were  out.  Even 
the  eight}'-nine  lights  around  the  alleged  tomb  of  the  apostle, 
which  the  guide-books  say  are   never  extinguished,  were  out. 


ROME,  THE    ETERNAL   CITY 


435 


I  went  early  on  the  following  morning  to  see  the  holy  fire 
lighted  at  St.  Peter's,  and  enjoyed  watching  the  glorious 
building  lighted  up  again.  The  ceremony  was  impressive, 
and  the  little  old  archbishop  who  conducted  it  was  manifestly 
a  devout  and  high-minded  man.      I  walked  in  directlv  behind 


THK    T1:M1M.K    of    VKSTA,    KOMI-: 


him  through  the  great  bronze  doors  that  are  seldom  opened, 
and  said  amen  in  my  heart  to  his  earnest  i)rayers  for  the 
renewing  grace  of  (iod  in  the  hearts  of  men.  I  do  n<it  know 
who  the  functionary  is  uhn  puts  on  and  takes  off  the  arch- 
bishoj)'s  miter,  and  |)laces  the  cushion  for  him  to  kneel  U])on. 
This  is  done  three  times  between  the  door  and  the  altar.  I 
was  near  enougli  to  him  all  the  way  to  have  bo.xed  his  ears, 
and  I  refrained  from  doing  it.  If  I  were  archl)isiiop,  that  man 
would  have  to  find  another  job.       I  never  saw  a  religious  cere- 


43<^  nil    ^'11'  woKi.n  IN    1I11-:  ni:w  ii-.x'i-i'in' 

mom-  more  shanu-fully  sjioilcd  by  L;"ross  ami  heartless  formal- 
ism, riu-  pi<-"ty  which  he  hroui^ht  to  the  cereiiu^ny  weiijjhed 
less  than  tlie  breath  with  which  he  carelessl}-  blew  the  ashes 
from  the  sleeves  of  his  rich  but  soiled  lace  garment.  Another 
thini;  1  would  do,  if  1  were  responsible  for  the  services  at  St. 
Peter's:  I  would  forl)id  the  use  of  celluloid  collars  b\-  the 
]-)riests.  A  frontier  preacher,  exposed  to  rain,  may  properly 
wear  a  celluloid  collar  to  the  pulpit,  but  the  religious  value  of 
a  clean  collar  is  too  great  to  be  lost  for  the  saving  of  a  laundry 
bill.  However,  I  did  not  cross  the  Tiber  so  early  in  the 
morning  to  criticise  the  ceremony  which  I  was  so  glad  to 
share.  l*or  the  most  i)art  I  rejoiced  in  it,  and  shared  in  its 
religious  spirit. 

Close  b\'  St.  I'eter's  is  the  Vatican.  In  its  galleries  are 
thousands  of  works  of  sculpture,  among  them  the  Apollo 
Belvidere,  the  Laocoon,  and  scores  of  other  masterpieces. 
The  paintings,  however,  are  very  few,  but  all  are  master- 
pieces. Among  them,  greatest  of  all  pictures,  is  Raphael's 
Transfiguration.  As  one  stands  before  it,  there  is  an  uplift 
almost  physical  in  the  sight  of  the  glorified  Lord — glorified 
above  human  life,  yet  exalted  that  He  may  relieve  suffering 
such  as  we  see  below  in  the  foreground,  where  the  disciples 
vainly  attempt  to  heal  the  demoniac  boy.  I  went  back  to  St. 
Peter's  after  Easter  to  see  the  immense  mosaic  of  the  same 
subject.  There  are  no  paintings  in  St.  Peter's,  and  among 
the  mosaics,  which  I  admired  at  the  time,  this  one  stands  out 
so  clearly  that  all  the  rest  are  half-forgotten.  It  is  an  inspir- 
ing composition,  and  the  world  needs  its  comfort  and  its  faith. 

I  reread  "The  Marble  Faun"  just  before  visiting  Rome. 
Whether  Hawthorne  wrote  a  good  story  or  not,  he  made  an 
admirable  guide-book,  and  shifted  his  scenes  from  point  to 
point  till  lie  had  covered  most  of  the  famous  places  of  Rome, 
to  Avhich  the  book  is  industriously  written  up.  As  for  the 
Marble  Faun  himself,  in  the  CapitoHne  Museum,  I  hardly 
saw  him.  I  would  have  lookeci  at  him  more  carefully,  and  I 
really  tried  faithfully  to  do  so,  but  he  is  in  the  room  with  the 
Dying   Gladiator.      Whenever   I    began   to   survey  that   com- 


ROME,  THE    ETERNAL   CITY  437 

placent  young  gentleman,  in  full  dress,  leaning  against  a  tree, 
and  looking  out  on  life  with  his  amiable  and  conceited  self- 
satisfaction,  I  found  my  eyes  wandering  to  the  figure  of  the  dy- 
ing athlete,  with  his  muscles  hardened  by  strenuous  endeavor, 
and  the  lines  of  resolute  purpose  strong  even  in  the  agon\-  of 
death,  and  I  found  my  wrath  rising  against  the  flippant  crea- 
ture of  Praxiteles  that  could  stand  there  and  see  him  die,  and 
think  only  of  his  own  good  looks.  If  Hawthorne  had  not 
written  a  book  about  him,  I  declare  I  should  never  have  seen 
him,  except  by  chance,  and  then  with  an  almost  irresistible 
impulse  to  put  him  out.  However,  there  arc  other  juxtapo- 
sitions in  Rome  still  more  incongruous;  and  the  tourist  should 
by  all  means  reread  Hawthorne. 

Of  course  one  must  visit  the  Pantheon,  the  most  perfect 
of  the  ancient  buildings  of  Rome,  indeed  the  only  one  not 
now  in  ruins.  It  was  built  in  27  B.C.,  and  was  used  as  a  place 
for  the  worship  of  all  gods.  In  608  A.  D.,  it  was  rededicated 
as  a  Christian  church,  and  consecrated  to  the  memory  of  all 
saints.  There  was  some  shifting  abcnit  of  the  day  for  the 
veneration  of  all  saints,  but  finally  the  first  day  of  November 
was  fixed  upon.  The  night  before  this  da}'  became  All-Hal- 
low-e'en.  One  might  not  always  be  sure  from  the  methoil  of 
its  observance  which  kind  of  angels  it  was  intended  to  com- 
memorate, liut  we  can  hardly  hold  i-ithcr  the  Pantheon  or 
the  church  responsible  for  the  pranks  of  the  boys.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  recall  that  if  theic  had  been  no  Pantheon  our  front 
•rates  would  have  been  safer  on  their  hinges. 

And  while  we  are  remembering  the  saints,  we  should  not 
forget  the  charming  little  Temple  of  Vesta,  down  by  the 
Tiber.  One  need  hardly  make  an  errand  to  find  it,  for  he  will 
surely  drive  past  it,  and  may  inspect  it  when  he  comes  to  it. 
There  is  another  temi)le  of  Vesta  at  the  P'orum  ;  but  that  b\'  the 
river  is  the  one  which  we  cared  to  see.  It  is  a  small,  circular 
structure,  twent}'-six  feet  in  diameter,  and  with  niiieleen 
columns.  (,)nly  one  of  the  original  twenty  is  lost.  It  must 
liavc  been  one  of  the  most  dainty  bits  of  architecture  in  Rome, 
and  e\c-n  now  it  is  a  beautiful  ruin. 


43^  rill    ^>i-i>  W'cui.i)  IN    I'HK  m:w  ci'.Nri'Rv 

Rome  is  a  c\ty  of  lounlaiiis.  Its  aciucducts  wfi'c  famous 
of  old.  Six  miles  aloni;  the  Appian  Way  the  arches  of  the 
Claudian  Aqueduct  displa}-  their  massixe  ruins.  This  immense 
conduit,  over  two  huntlred  feet  hiL;h,  conveyed  water  to  the 
citv  from  a  distance  of  f(^rty-six  miles.  The  Aqua  Veri^ine  is 
fourteen  miles  lont;",  and  receives  its  name  from  the  incident 
of  a  virgin  revealing-  the  spring  to  Agrippa,  who  constructed 
the  aqueduct.  It  is  built  on  seven  hundred  arches,  and 
enters  the  city  near  the  Pincian  Hill.  This  is  the  chief  source 
of  supply  of  the  fountains  of  Rome,  among  them  the  Piazza 
Navona,  Piazza  Farnese,  Piazza  di  Spagna,  and  most  famous 
of  all.  the  Tre\'i.  This  is  an  enormous  fountain,  with  a  co- 
lossal statue  of  Neptune  drawn  by  sea-horses  in  the  middle, 
and  around  it  groups,  historical  and  allegorical.  Health  and 
Abundance  are  there  in  marble,  and  also  the  virgin  who  showed 
the  spring  to  Agrippa.  The  guides  told  us  that  whoever  throws 
money  into  this  fountain  is  sure  to  come  to  Rome  again.  I 
hope  to  go  again,  but  I  have  some  misgivings  lest  my  money 
thrown  in  when  I  was  there  before  may  not  then  be  in  sight. 

Rome  is  a  cleaner  city  than  I  expected  to  find,  more  pros- 
perous, pleasant  and  inviting.  It  is  not  a  hard  city  to 
explore.  The  streets  are  busy  by  day  and  very  still  by  night, 
except  only  the  Corso,  where  the  shops  keep  open  a  little 
while  after  dinner.  In  the  evening  one  is  free  even  from  the 
street  venders  with  their  little  wooden  cabinets  of  mosaic  work 
and  cameo  pins.  In  the  daytime  there  is  only  one  way  to  be 
rid  of  them,  and  that  is  to  ofTer  a  ridiculously  small  price. 
That  will  usually  close  the  transaction  by  their  accepting  the 
ofTer.  Once  in  a  long  time,  however,  it  has  the  other,  and 
the  desired,  effect. 

One  dealer  had  bothered  me  for  a  long  time  with  a  really 
good  cameo:   "Fi'  dollar,  only  fi'  dollar,"  he  said. 

"No,"  I  answered  for  the  twentieth  time. 

"How  much  \'ou  give?"  he  asked. 

"Two  francs,"  I  replied. 

lie  pushed  in  the  drawer  of  his  little  cabinet  with  a  dis- 
gusted look,  and  said,  "I  shall  proceed!" 


ROME,   THE    ETERNAL   CIT\  439 

He  Stayed  not  on  the  order  of  his  procedure  but  proceeded. 

We  spent  a  day  in  carriages,  driviuL;-  to  the  Catacombs  and 
exploring  the  Appian  Way,  which  Paul  trod  when  he  came  to 
Rome.  "And  so  we  came  to  Rome,"  wrote  Luke.  Not  as 
the  accredited  messenger  of  the  churches,  but  as  a  prisoner, 
he  fulfilled  his  life  ambition!  I  thought  of  it  every  mile  of 
the  way,  and  could  almost  hear  the  clanking  of  his  chains  as 
he  approached  the  Eternal  City,  and  I  rejoiced  that  the  time 
came  when  he  could  write  from  there,"  Hut  I  woukl  ye  should 
understand,  brethren,  that  the  things  which  happened  unto 
me  have  fallen  out  rather  unto  the  furtherance  of  the  gospel; 
so  that  my  bonds  in  Christ  are  manifest  in  all  the  jialace,  and 
in  all  other  jilaces."  "And  so  we  came  to  Rome!"  Through 
persecution  and  treacher\'  and  false  accusation  and  stripes  and 
hipwreck  he  accomplished  what  for  years  he  had  longed  to 
undertake,  antl  might  never  otherwise  ha\-e  realized!  If  ever 
there  was  a  hero,  it  was  that  man  Paul. 

We  visited  the  "Quo  Vadis"  chapel,  where  it  is  ^aid  that 
Peter,  fleeing  from  Rome  in  a  time  of  persecution,  met  the 
Lord,  and  asked,  "Master,  where  goest  Thou?"  W'lien  Jesus 
replied,  "I  go  again  to  be  crucified,"  Peter  in  shame  returned 
to  the  city  to  meet  death  bravel}-  for  his  Lord's  sake.  It  is 
a  beautiful  legend,  with  no  historical  foundation.  The  place 
would  be  impressive  but  for  the  dime  museum  attachment  of 
the  cast  of  the  stone,  which  still  shows  the  allegeil  footpi  ints 
of  Clirist.  ^'ou  ma)'  see  the  real  stone  a  mile  fuithei'  on  if 
you  liave  another  fee  for  the  custodian.  llowe\'er,  tourists 
like  to  be  shown  this  sort  of  thing,  and  except  tiie\-  see  signs 
and  wonders  will  not  believe. 


CHAPTER    XXVI 
ACROSS    EUROPE 

It  Wcis  my  ijood  fortune  to  bclony;  to  a  j^roiip  known  on  our 
cruise  as  "The  Mayflower  Party,"  composed,  in  i;oocl  part, 
of  my  own  parishioners  and  personal  friends.  We  were  one 
of  several  such  parties,  constituting-  smaller  units  in  the  i;reat 
companv  of  the  ship.  These  had  hekl  together  during  the 
first  part  of  our  pilgrimage,  and  though  separated  more  or  less 
in  Egypt  and  Palestine,  came  together  again  on  the  ship. 
Then  we  scattered,  as  such  parties  do,  and  with  mutual  regret. 
Our  relations  had  been  exceedingly  pleasant,  and  we  have  many 
happy  experiences  to  remember.  In  crossing  Europe,  though 
I  frequently  met  and  accompanied  others  of  our  friends,  my 
immediate  party  was  reduced  to  five,  and  these  were  my  next 
door  neighbors  at  home.  It  is  a  good  thing  for  a  man  to  go 
abroad  that  he  may  meet  new  faces;  it  is  also  well  to  do  so 
that  he  may  become  acquainted  with  his  neighbors  next  door. 
We  still  are  friends,  and  better  friends  for  our  journey  together. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  tell  what  all  the  various  mem- 
bers of  our  party  did  and  saw  between  Naples  and  New^  York. 
It  would  take  another  volume  to  describe  what  one  little 
group  did  and  observed.  We  gave  ourselves  about  a  month 
for  Europe,  and  so  distributed  it  as  to  see  and  enjoy  a  great 
deal.  Some  of  our  friends  moved  more  rapidly,  and  were 
home  before  us;  others  remained  longer,  and  were  profited. 
A  goodly  number  so  timed  their  various  tours  as  to  meet  the 
Celtic  herself,  fresh  from  an  overhauling,  and  returned  on  her 
to  America. 

Our  little  group  first  visited  Pisa,  where  we  saw  the  cathe- 
dral and  the  leaning  tower,  and  heard  the  indescribable  echoes 
in  the  baptistery.  The  custodian  of  the  latter  has  a  rich, 
musical  voice,  and  gives  a  call  in  thirds  and  fifths,  now  major 

440 


ACROSS    EUROPE 


441 


and  then  minor.  The  echoes  multiply,  and  come  back  with 
all  the  chords  and  overtones  in  richest  combination,  and  die 
out  at  last  into  the  unseen. 

From  Pisa  we  went  to  Florence,  a  journey  of  sixty- two 
miles  by  rail.  Here  we  spent  from  Thursday  night  until 
Monday   morning.      Not   even    Rome   has   so   much    literarv 


BAPTISTERY,    CATHEIJKAL    AM)    LKAMNCi     TOWEK,    I'ISA 

interest  as  Florence.  Here  Dante  was  born,  and  Galileo  dieil : 
here  the  Guelphs  and  the  Ghibellines  waged  their  long  strife- : 
here  mediaeval  commerce  dcvelopetl  the  necessity  of  a  new 
fixed  value,  and  the  gold  florin  took  its  name  fn^m  the  tow  n  ; 
and  side  by  side  with  commerce,  art  advanced  till  Florence  led 
the  world;  here  Machiavelli  wrote  his  treatise  instructing 
rulers  how  to  keep  the  faith  by  breaking  it ;  and  here  Moccaccio, 
having  written  his  Decameron  and  indulged  in  folly  and  sin. 
found  seasons  of  fitful  and  futile  penitence;  here  (iiotto  built 
his  bell  tower,"  tall,  light,  and  graceful  as  a  lily  stalk"  ;  and  here 
even  Raphael  learned  better  how  to  paint.  1 1  ere,  shut  in  from 
a  wicked  world  b\'  convent  walls,  liveti  a  monk  whose  ilreams 


w- 


VWV:    OLD    WOULD    IN     llll'.    Ni:\V    Cl'-NTLKV 


of  celestial  he.iuU-  expressetl  theniseK^os  in  ans^clic  forms 
almost  iiicoi-porc.il,  aiul  tin-  woiKl  foij^c^  the  name  of  Guido, 
the  -son  of  reter,  anti  called  him  l^a  Ant^elico,  "Angelic 
l^r(^ther. "    In  the  same  coiu'cnt  li\(.'d  Sa\'(inai'ola,  who  knew  the 


A  GROUP  OF  FKA  AXGELICO  ANGELS,  UFFIZI  GALLKKV,  FLOKENCF 

wickedness  of  society,  and  the  sorrows  of  the  poor  too  well  to 
be  silent;  and,  his  soul  all  afire  with  righteous  zeal,  poured  out 
his  eloquent  exhortations  till  wicked  Florence  stopped  its  ears 
and  burned  him.  Florence  also  has  interests  more  modern; 
for  here  lies  buried  Theodore  Parker,  the  American  friend  of 
freedom  for  all  men ;  and  here  Elizabeth  Browning  wrote 
Aurora  Leigh,  and  here  she  died. 

We  visited  the  art  galleries  of  the  city,  beginning  with  the 
L'ffizi,  with  its  Tribune,  a  room  full  of  masterpieces,  contain- 


ACROSS   EUROPE 


443 


ing  two  Venuses  by  Titian,  Correggio's  Madonna  Adoring  the 
Child,  Raphael's  Madonna  of  the  Goldfinch,  and  other  noted 
paintings  by  Durer,  Michael  Angelo,  Rubens,  and  Domeni- 
chino.  In  tlie  same  room  are  a  few  works  in  marble,  amone 
them  the  Knife-grinder,  the  Young  Apollo,  and  most  beautiful 
of  all,  the  Medici  Venus.  This  is  one  comprehensive  room, 
arranged,  apparently,  to  bewilder  and  entice  the  beholder  with 


Jill-:    CATHKUKAI.    AM)    CilOTTOS    TOWTR,    TLORKNCE 

a  foretaste  of   the  richness  of  the  collections  that  remain   for 
him  in  the  classified  rooms  be\-ond. 

After  seeing  several  miles  of  masterpieces  in  llu'  rffi/.i. 
we  visited,  but  on  another  day,  the  I'itti  Palace.  There  u  r 
saw  some  of  the  most  frequently  copied  paintings  in  the  worKl, 
including  Raphael's  Madonna  of  the  (irand  Duke,  so  gentle 
and  fair;  Murillo's  Madonna,  with  the  ileep.  dark  eyes  of 
mother  antl  Child;  and  most  famous  of  all.  tlu-  Madonna  of 
the  Chair.  The\-  tell  this  stor\-  in  Florence  about  this  |)icture. 
A  pious  and  aged  hermit,  having  been  rescued  from  death  in 
a  great  storm  by  Mary,  a  vine-dresser's  daughtrr,  predicted 
that  to  thi-^  M;ir\'  \\"m1,|  .  ..ni'-  -i"ti;il  honm-.       M.n\-  m.iv  h.ivc 


Ill  INK    OlA)    WORLD    IN     1  1 1 1-.    NKW     CKNl'LiKV 

kcjit  these  t.hiiii;s  in  her  heart  .uul  poiuK-retl  them,  hut  whether 
she  did  or  not.  she  i^ave  her  heart  to  a  co(~)per,  and  the  two 
made  their  home  in  a  sechuletl  \alK'\-  amoni;  the  \'ine\'ards. 
Thitlier  one  (hi\-  came  Raphael  with  his  pupils,  and  seeing 
M.ir_\"  se.Ued  in  a  chair  on  the  porch  with  the  \'ines  about  her, 
one  child   hv  her  sitle  and  cnie  younger  in  her  arms,  he  seized 


PIAZZA    DELLA    SIGNOKA,    FLORENCE,    WHERE    SAVONAROLA    WAS    BURNED 

upon  the  subject  as  a  model.  The  boy  by  her  side  became 
the  young  Saint  John,  and  the  babe  in  arms  the  infant  Jesus. 
Rut  Raphael  had  no  canvas  at  hand;  so  he  painted  the  pic- 
ture on  a  barrel-head.  The  attendants  assure  you  that  the 
framed  canvas  in  the  gallery  is  the  head  of  a  barrel;  this  is 
not  true,  but  there  is  nothing  improbable  in  the  story  that 
the  sketch  at  least  was  so  made.  Every  line  in  the  painting 
shows  that  it  was  fashioned  with  reference  to  a  circular  frame. 
We  attended  the  American  Church,  hlpiscopal,  in  Florence, 
and  heard  a  good  sermon;  there,  and  in  the  Scotch  Presby- 
terian Church  in  Naples,  the  previous  Sunday,  fervent  prayer 


ACROSS   EUROPE 


445 


was  offered  for  the  President  of  the  United  States.  We 
visited  the  great  cathedral,  most  in\iting  without  and  disap- 
pointing within;  and  went  twice  to  San  Marco  to  see  where 
Fra  Angelico  painted  and  Savonarola  preached.  There  is 
something  fascinating  in  the  portrait  of  the  latter  by  Fra 
Bartolommeo.  The  features  are  heavy,  and  the  shadows  are  so 
deep  that  one  sees  at  first  little  more  than  the  profile  against 


THE    TKlHLNi:,    I  KFl/.l    (JAI.I.KKV,    KLUKli.NCE 

a  black  background.  I^iit  as  one  turns  the  frame  a  little  ti) 
the  liizht — it  is  hinged  to  the  window  casing  in  Savonarola's 
cell — and  studies  it  a  w  iiilc,  the  monkish  garb  comes  out,  and 
the  features  light  up  w  ilh  a  spirituality  that  one  tloes  not  at 
first  discover.  The  jjainting  is  a  masterpiece,  and  the  man 
depicted  a  heroic  and  jM'ophctic  soul. 

I  had  already  made  several  resolutions,  >ulIi  .i>  '.No  moic 
mosques;  no  more  cathedrals;  no  more  winding  stairs  to 
roofs  to  get  the  view."  1  now  adtled,  "No  more  art  galler- 
ies," but  I  broke  the  resolution  as  soon  as  we  found  another 
gallery,  and  I  shattered  it  to  bits  at  the  Louvre.  Hut  it  was 
a  relief  .ift<r  flu-  miles  of  'Galleries  in  l'"lorence  to  think  o(  sit- 


44^^ 


nil".    OLD    WOULD    IN     1  1 1 1'.    Nl'.W    IIINITRV 


tiiiL;  in  a  ;4'muloIa  at  W-iiicc.  To  Venice  we  went.  The  dis- 
tance is  one  hundred  and  eiy;ht\'-two  miles.  The  train  i^ocs 
twenty-one  miles  northwest  t(~»  l'ist<iia.  where  pistols  were 
in\'ente(.l.  and  then,  turning  a  right  angle,  ascends  the  Apen- 
nines.     There  are  bridges  innumerable,  and  viaducts  more  than 


KAi'llAKL    rAINTlNC;    Till.     MADONNA    OF     llll':    (  IIAIK 
Painting  by  J.  W.  V/itmer 


ACROSS   EUROPE 


+4: 


one  can  remember,  and  forty-five  tunnels.  On  the  east  side 
of  the  summit  we  find  the  headwaters  of  the  Reno,  and  follow 
them  down  to  Bologna.  We  were  then  eighty-two  miles  on 
our  way,  witli  just  one   hundred  still  to  travel.      Late   in  the 


THE    MADONNA    ( H-     1  H  K    (IIAIK,    )iV    KA IMIA 1. 1  .    11111    I'AI.ACE,    FLoKKNtK 

afternoon  we  arrived  at  Venice,  and  having  engaged  rooms  in 
the  Britannia  on  the  (irand  Canal,  called  a  gondola,  and  went 
thither.  The  (irand  Canal  is  an  immense  liijuid  letter  .S. 
The  gondoliers,  in  taking  one  a  long  distance,  commonly  go 
through  side  canals,  and  so  one  sees  much  more  of  Venice  in 
a  three  days'  sta\'  than  if  the  Grand  Canal  were  straight. 

We  went  to  St.  Mark's  that  evening,  .md  discovered    how 
easy  it   is  for  tourist.s  to  lose  themselves  in   a  city  of  bridges 


44^ 


TliK    Oil)    WOULD    IN     111!'.    Nl'.W    CKNTIUV 


iicarK-  alike  o\-cr  canals  n(')t  vciy  dissimilar.  But  one  has  only 
to  call  a  i;(Mulola.  and  he  will  soon  he  home  a^ain.  The 
C'aniiKinile  was  exen  then  tottering;  hut  we  had  seen  so  many 
(.lecrei)it  looking'  structures  w  hich  ha\e  stood  for  centuries  that 
we  did  not  suspect  it  was  just  ahout  to  fall.  The  old  cus- 
todian was  then  warnint;'  the  authorities,  and  had   been  doing 


THE   LAST   SUPPER,   BY    FRA   ANGELICO,   SAN    MARCO,   FLORENCE 

SO  for  months.  They  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  his  warnings, 
reproved  him  for  troubling  them,  and  finally  discharged  him. 
One  Saturday  soon  after  we  left  he  took  his  son  to  the  square, 
pointed  out  the  widening  cracks  in  the  masonry,  said  that  it 
would  break  his  heart  to  stay  and  see  it  fall,  and  took  the 
train  out  of  Venice.  Within  forty-eight  hours  the  Campanile 
that  had  stood  for  a  thousand  years  was  a  mass  of  ruins. 

We  accepted  the  offer  of  a  guide  to  show  us  St.  Mark's 
for  a  lira,  and  he  did  it  well.  He  then  begged  the  privilege 
of  showing  us  how  glass  is  spun  in  Venice;  and  we  saw  at 
once  why  his  fee  for  the  church  had   been  so  small;   however, 


ACROSS  EUROPE 


449 


we  permitted  him  to  do  as  he  wished,  and  as  my  friends  made 
liberal  purchases  of  Venetian  glass,  the  guide  had  his  reward. 


We  also  saw  the  lace  factories. 


It  was  a  wonderful  thing 


SAVONAKOI.A 
Portrait  by   Fra  Bartolommco 

to  sec  those  luuulrcds  of  girls  making  fine  lace  on  pilhnvs;  l)ut 
the  effort  of  the  manager  is  to  hiin\-  tin-  tourist  throui;h  with 
the  merest  superficial  glance,  and  hold  liiin  long  in  the  sales- 
room. 1  learned  that  few  of  the  girls  working  there  obtain 
over  a  lira  (nineteen  cents)  a  day. 


45 


o 


nil    o\.\)  woivi.n  IN    rill    ni.w   ci:Nnm' 


"Alas,  that  liroail  should  be  so  ilear, 
And  llrsli  and  blood  so  chcapl" 

W'c  made  d  tew   sin. ill    purchases  in  the  shops  that  line  the 

Rialto  Bridi^e,  and   sio'hcd  at   the  Britls^e  of   Siohs.      It  still  is 

a  place   to  sii;h  over,  even    ihoiiL^h  the   traditions  about    it  are 

chiotly  manufactured.      I  was  ridino   under  it  one  day  when  a 

gondoh\  with  barred  w  intlows  approached  from  the  other  way. 

I  motioned  my  L;oiulolier   to  push  to  the  otlicr  side  and  stop. 


VENICE  — THE  CAMPANILE  FROM  THE  GRAND  CANAL 


Directly  opposite  the  landing-steps  of  the  prison  we  waited 
while  the  boat  came  in.  There  soldiers  got  out,  and  then, 
followed  by  a  fourth,  came  a  young  man  in  irons.  His  hands 
and  forearms  were  made  fast  in  a  clumsy  and  cruel-looking 
device,  that  seemed  a  sort  of  flat  plank  with  iron  pins  project- 
ing. He  stepped  out  so  jauntily,  and  he  was  so  young!  He 
looked  like  a  man  who  could  kill  a  king  and  smile.  He  did 
not  have  a  bad  face,  but  one  that  called  for  admiration  and 
pity. 

We  left  Venice,  and  came  to  Milan.  What  a  contrast 
between  its  cathedral  and  St.  Mark's!  One  ought  to  see  St. 
Mark's  the  last  thing  before  leaving  Venice,  and  having  fixed 
its  characteristic  features  in   mind,  go  straight  to  the   Milan 


ACROSS   EUROPE 


451 


cathedral,  and  contrast  its  wilderness  of  Gothic  spires  and  its 
serrated  sky-line  with  the  soft,  rounded  lines  of  the  noble  pile 
of  Venice.  Of  course  we  saw  Da  Vinci's  masterpiece,  "The 
Last  Supper."      It  is  a  ruin,  but  noble  in  its  ruins,  and   hap- 


THK    KKIIXiK   OK   SIGHS 
Photograph   \>v    Mr^.    I'.    H.   Nrwcll 

])il\-  may  be  interpretetl  by  the  faithful  contemporary  copies 
which  stand  before  it.  Here,  too,  in  the  cit\-  where  X'^erdi 
died,  I  heard  II  Trovatore,  and  fouml  a  packed  house,  listen- 
ing with  enthusiasm;  and  the  wonder  of  it  was  that  there  was 
no  ballet,  and  no  one  seemed  to  miss  it. 

Thence  throui^h  the  district  of  Itali.m  lakes  into  tiir  moun- 
tains we  rose  to  the  summits  of  the  Alps,  and  passed  through 
tiic  St.  Gotthard  tunnel.  One  thing  here  surjirised  me, 
namely,  that    several  of   the  tunnels   that    appiM.ich    *',,•   ..,-» 


452  rill".  OLD  woKi.n  in    riu.  m:\v  ci:\rrRV 

arc  not  ni.ulc  to  escape  hills  hut  to  ixhIucc  i:;Tailcs,  and  ascend 
in  spirals  in  the  heart  of  the  mountain,  douhlini;'  on  their  own 
track,  once  ov  twice,  or  e\'en  thrice. 

A  little  study  o{  the  acconipaiiyini;-  map  of  some  of  these 
tunnels  will  pro\e  instructixe.  The  map  of  W'assen  and  vicin- 
it}-,  for  instance,  shows  that  but  for  the  clind),  the  road  niii^lit 


THE    KIALTO 
Photograph  by  Miss  Grace  A.  Ross 

have  been  built  with  no  tunnels,  and  with  no  bridefes  over  the 
Reuss,  and  only  one  over  its  principal  tributary.  The  road 
actually  has  three  nearly  circular  tunnels  at  this  point,  besides 
five  shorter  tunnels,  live  bridges,  and  a  wide  double  loop. 
All  this  is  done  in  little  more  than  a  mile  as  the  crow  flies; 
but  many  miles  have  been  traversed,  the  station  at  Wassen 
has  appeared  and  disa])pcared,  again  and  again,  now  on  this 
side  and  then  on  that,  now  above  and  then  below;  and  by 
the  time  it  is  shut  out  of  sight  by  the  Rohrback  Tunnel,  the 
train  has  risen  two  hundred  and  fifty-six  feet  from  its  entrance 
to  the  Pfaffensprung  Tunnel. 


ACROSS    EUROPE 


453 


Our  next  stop  was  at  Lucerne,  where  we  spent  a  m'ght. 
After  all  the  odd  vehicles  we  had  seen,  I  found  none  more 
interesting  than  the  milk-carts  of  Lucerne.  They  are  drawn 
by  men  and  St.  Bernard  dogs.  The  dog  takes  one  side  and 
the  master  the  other.  The  dog  lies  down  and  guards  the 
wagon  while  the  master  goes  inside  the  customer's  house  with 


THE    CAMI'ANILK    ANO    SAINT    MARKS,   VKNICK 


milk;  and  then  the  two  yoke-fellows  draw  tiicir  load  aloiiLT 
together. 

Mere  we  saw  and  admired  Tiiorvaklsen's  "  Womuieil 
I^ion,"  holding  up  to  sad  immortality  the  memory  of  republi- 
cans who  dietl  to  maintain  a  corru])t  and   hopeless  monarch)'. 

We  reveled  in  the  lore  of  William  Tell;  we  N^okeii  with 
rejoicing  on  the  .Alpine  peaks;  we  sailed  the  length  of  Lake 
Lucerne  and  back;  we  bought  some  carved  wood  souvenirs; 
and  we  enjoyed  the  place,  the  people,  and  the  e.vperience. 

Ihcn  we  came  to  liale,  whose  people  surprised  us  b\-  their 
almost    uniforml)-    good    dress,    robust    health,   ami    pleasant 


131 


mi';    OLD    WORLD    IN     1111.    M;\V    LllNllKV 


demeanor;  \\x-  ilrin'c  .ihiuit  the  city,  crossed  tlie  Rhine,  and 
came  hack  ai;ain  ioy  a  sleeper  to  Paris.  If  this  l)ook  contains 
an\"  word  c-»l'  \\isiUin\  for  future-  tourists,  it  is,  l)on't  pa\'  five 
dollars  for  .i  sleeper  to  I'.iris.  I  shared  a  compartment  with 
a  man  so  friL;htenetl  \)y  m\-  presence  that  he  dared  not  take  off 
his   o\'ercoat.    and    we   made   each    other    mutualK'    uncomfor- 


MILAN   CATHEDRAL 


table.  The  customs  of^cers  woke  us  at  midnight  for  their 
perfunctory  inspection.  The  train  went  fast,  and  joltetl  hard; 
and  tlie  night  was  an  uncomfortable  one.  Those  did  better 
who  went  by  day,  or  who  stretched  out  in  the  day  coaches. 
He  who  undertakes  to  sit  up  and  gets  a  little  sleep  rejoices 
that  he  is  so  much  aliead  of  his  expectation  ;  but  he  who  pays 
to  sleep  and  cannot  accomplish  it  is  a  double  loser. 

Then  came  Paris,  and  a  delightful  visit  with  old  friends 
who  are  there  in  government  service.  My  old  parishioner, 
Major  William    11.  Williams,  European   agent   of   the    United 


ACROSS    EUROPE 


455 


States  Treasury  Department,  came  to  the  liotel,  and  bore  me 
off  to  his  home.  Consul-General  Gowdy  lives  in  the  same 
pleasant  apartment  hotel,  and  it  was  good  to  find  so  much  of 
the  United  States  in  one  place  as  was  comprised  in  these 
gentlemen  and  their  families.  The  Major  has  two  music 
boxes  which  play  patriotic  airs,  and  he  sets  one  of  them  at 
The  Star  Spangled  Banner,  and  the  other  at  My  Country, 
'Tis  of  Thee,  as  soon  as  he  wakes  in  the  morninij,  and   croes 


TMK    I, A'^T    SUl'l'ER 


DA  Vl.NCl  S    OKKAl     IMi    II    K'l       \s     11      \rn\Ks     |ii|)\S 


to  bed  at  night  to  the  combined  strains  of  The  Red,  White, 
and  Blue,  and  Home,  Sweet  limine.  If  ever  .i  man  did 
the  riglit  thing  b)-  a  former  pastor,  the  MaJDi'  did  it.  and  witli 
trratitude  to  him  I  am  abli:  to  sa\'  thai  frw  nu-n  ii.ive  ever 
seen  so  much  of  Paris,  or  seen  it  so  well,  in  foii:  days  as  I 
was  able  to  do  through  his  kindness  and  that  of  Mrs.  Williams. 
I  am  not  intending  to  tell  what  I  saw,  but  onlx'  to  awaken  an 
envious  feeling  in  the  hearts  of  my  fellow-tra\-eiers  who  were 
at  the  hotels. 

Durintr  the  time  of  m\'  \iNit  cum-  the  demonstration  in 
favor  of  America,  in  the  benefit  concert  for  the  McKinK-)- 
monument:    but    it    \\.i^   Sarah    Bernhardt'^    picture,    aiul    not 


456  fill'.    DLl)    \\^^)KLU    IN     lllK    NKW     CKNllKV 

MoKinlox's.  that  adiMiu-tl  tlic  souxciiir  programme.  The 
lady  herself  awakened  enthusiasm  w  liich  lier  reach'iig  ih'd  not 
ileser\-e.  \o\-  it  was  spiritless  and  |u'rt iinetoiN-,  and  such  as  no 
woman  would    ha\-e  wntured  to    present  to  sueh   an  audience 


r 


■2v% 


THE    DA  VINCI    MONUMENT,    MILAN 


unless  her  reputation  had  been  made  already.  There  were 
other  noted  performers,  each  giving  an  act  or  bit  of  an  act, 
from  some  play  then  on  the  boards,  and  worth  advertising  at 
the  expense  of  the  United  States.  I  shall  not  advertise  them 
by  giving  their  names,  for  they  do  not  deserve  it.  The  presi- 
dent of  the  French  Republic  attended,  and  remained  in  his 
box  long  enough  to  be  seen  by  the  reporters;  and  all  the 
papers  agreed  that  it  was  an  overwhelming  testimonial  of  the 


ACROSS   EUROPE 


457 


warm  feeling  of  the  Republic  of  France  toward  her  sister 
republic  across  the  sea;  and  General  Gowdy  came  home  so 
loaded  with  flowers  that  there  was  not  room  for  nie  in  the 
elevator  with  him.  But  1  will  take  mv  countrymen  into  mv 
confidence  enouerh  to  sav  that  whatever  "-ood   feelin</  France 


LAKK    LLtiANO 


has  for  America  cannot  be  proved  by  tlu-  willingness  of 
Parisian  theaters  to  advertise  tluir  current  [)Iays  before  an 
audience  of  Americans  who  pa)'  four  dollars  or  niorr  a  ^iMt 
to  see  and  hear  not  much  of  anxthing.  However,  tin- 
McKinley  monument  received  some  moiu-\\  and  the  Ameri- 
can girl  who  sang  The  Star  Spangled  Banner  did  it  better 
than  the  h'rench  girl  who  sang  the  Marseillaise. 

I  attended   the  American   Church  in    Paris,  a  fine   rallying 
place    for  the   best  American    |>eople  in    that  city,  and    in    tin- 


•15^^ 


■ni 


OLD    WOKI.U    IN     I 


M;\\     CKNTl'UV 


ovoniiiL;'  pic.icliod.  by  iiu-italion.  to  about  a  huiuh'ed  American 
students  in  the  Latin  Ouarter,  a  cbstrict  now  ahii(~)st  past 
recognition.  The  scrxice  was  heUl  in  a  stiub'o,  with  the  work 
of  tlie  students  all  about  on   the  walls.      I   do  not   remember 


OVER   THE    ALPS    BV    RAIL 


to  have  preached  amid  frescoes  less  ecclesiastical,  but  I 
enjoyed  the  service.  The  young  people  were  a  wholesome 
company.  I  learned  a  few  things,  however,  about  the  brutal- 
ity of  some  teachers  and  the  immorality  of  others  which  will 
cause  me  to  hesitate  some  time  before  advising  young  Ameri- 
cans to  study  art  or  music  in  Paris. 

I  was  sorry  to  leave  Paris  before  the  opening  of  the  Grand 
Salon,  with   its  annual    dis[)lay    of  works   of   art.      There   was 


ACROSS   EUROPE 


459 


much  talk  about  it  when  I  was  there,  witli  more  than  the 
usual  complaint  against  the  commission  on  the  part  of  disap- 
pointed artists  and  their  friends.  It  was  afifirmed  that  the 
desirable  space  in  the  exhibit  is  largely  monopolized  by  medal- 
ists whose  works  no   longer  are  subject  to   rejection,  and  that 


M  \  1'    III-     slMK  \I       II    SMI  >N 


often  i)aintings  of  real  merit  must  gi\e  place  to  those  with 
little  to  recommend  them  JDUt  a  noted  nainr.  Moreover,  it 
was  charged  that  members  of  the  commission  anil  others  in 
authority  arc  often  teachers,  ambitious  for  their  ])upils,  and 
disposed  t(j  secure  their  works  a  place  in  the  Salon.  i".\cn 
harshei'  words  than  these  were  spoken;  but  when  did  a  jury 
of  artists  ever  escape  without  censure,  or  a  hanging  committee 
avoid  the  danger  of  being  hung?  Out  of  some  six  thousand 
pictures  submitted,  about  six  luindreil  are  chosen ;  and  thr 
number  of  rlisappointed  artists  is  legion. 

.fXnoiher  exhibit  had  just  been  opcned^ — that  of  ihe  Impus- 
sioni'^f-^.  th'-  '-^i  i<  ii'f  i''  di-^  Aiti^t^  Indi'nind.inl  <.      'I'hcii  i  \  liibit 


460 


THI'".    OLD    WOKI  1)    IN     1111.    NK\V    CKNIim 


was  hcKl  in  tlic  I  lorticult  uimI  Iniildiii^',  oiu-  of  tlu'  l.Wi^c  expo- 
sition huiklin^L^s.  '['he  sli'iuLuic,  with  others  staiuh'ii^-  near 
the  bountiful  Pont  Alexamh-e,  also  erected  for  the  Paris 
Exposition,  makes   one    wish    that    our    Ameriean    expositions 


THE    WOUNDED    LION    OF    LUCERNE 
Photograph  by  Mrs.  F.  B.  Newell 

were  built  for  permanence,  and  not  with  a  view  to  immediate 
demolition  of  the  fine  structures  when  they  have  served  their 
first  purpose.  The  building  itself  is  neither  better  nor  worse  in 
its  architecture  than  many  that  have  been  constructed  and  de- 
stroyed since  1893  in  Chicago,  Atlanta,  Nashville,  Omaha,  and 
Buffalo;  but  it  is  built  out  of  something  more  solid  than  stafT. 
Why  may  not  expositions  in  our  own  country  hereafter  aspire  to 
construct  abiding  monuments  in  the  Iniildings  themselves,  and 
plan  them  in  advance  for  such  uses  that  they  can  remain? 


ACROSS   EUROPE 


461 


The  impressionists  have  refused  to  stay  put.  A  while  ago 
they  were  giving  us  everything  in  bright  yellows  and  light  pea- 
greens  and  ubiquitous  i)urplcs.  We  were  just  learning,  under 
their  instruction,  to  detect  more  shades  of  greens  in  the  land- 


AM<iN(i     IIIK    AI.I'S 


scape,  and  more  purjile  in  the  twili^iit  .iml  the  distance,  and 
thought  that  \\  c  had  found  common  grouml  with  the  im|)rcssion- 
ists,  when  lo,  the  early  sj)ring  greens  have  gone,  and  the  famili.ir 
purples  have  disappeared.  The  display  which  I  attended  was 
not  seeking  furtive  and  elusive  lights;  it  was  after  large  game, 
and  loaded  accordingly,  I'he  result  was  astounding,  lie  who 
would  describe  it  to  friends  at  home  shoid»l  have  an  est.iblishcd 
reputation  for  verarilw       I  will  undertake  the  hazard. 


46: 


THK   Oil*    \\oUI,l)    IN     lllK    XKW    CKNTl'KN' 


Just  inside  tin-  cIocm".  as  one  begins  the  survey  of  the  col- 
lection, is  a  i;roup  o(  jKiintin^s,  all  1)\-  the  same  artist,  of  pic- 
tures  such  as   chiKlren    make   on    the   black-board  with    seven 


THE    MADONNA    OF   THE    GRAND    DUKE,   PITTI    PALACE,    FLORENCE 

colors  of  chalk.  ",,  The  subjects  also  are  the  same  that  children 
choose.  There  is  a  house  with  crude,  straight  lines  bounding 
its  outlines,  and  with  patches  for  doors  and  windows.  There 
are  the  trees  about  it,  i)ainted  precisely  as  a  child  draws  them 
with  green  chalk.  There  is  no  attempt  at  perspective  and 
very  little  at  proportion.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  it  other 
than  by  reference  to  a  cliild's  attempt  at  outline  drawing,  and 


ACROSS    EUROPE 


46; 


hit-or-miss  coloring.      Yet  this  puerile  group  is  exliibited   by 
a  grown  man  with  some  reputation  as  an  artist. 

One  speedily  finds  pictures  of  the  nude — though   not  in 
excessive    proportion — ^the    first    of   which    is    a    half-draped 


MIKII.I.o's    MADDNN.A,    I'll  11     ("A  I  .\(   I  ,    1- I.(  )I<1CNCK 

woman  sitting  at  a  tal)le  with  a  wash-bowl  upDii  it,  washing 
her  arms.  One  does  not  object  to  it  because  of  the  extent  of 
the  nudity,  but  because  the  nuility  serves  no  artistic  purpose, 
and  the  finished  jjicture  is  nothing  but  a  woman  washing  her 
elbow.  The  nude  is  no  longer  a  means,  but  an  end.  The 
artist  sets  out,  not  to  |)resent  a  thoui^ht.  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  which  nudity  is  an  effective  attribuli-,  but  to  paint, 
and    usiialK-  in  a   strange  ji-dit   or  unfamiliar  altitude,  a   nude 


4(vj  rilK    nl  n    WOKl.D    in     rilK    NEW    CKNIT'RV 

fii>urc.  Olio  scarclu's  tin-  catali')ijuo  in  vain  for  a  motive  back 
of  these  drearv  aiul  uioihiil  can\-ases.  rhere  is  a  complete  lack 
of  motix'c.  'riicre  is  ccMispieuous  absence  of  classical,  mytho- 
logical, ami  historic, il  subjects.  'riiere  ai'e  n(^  captive  Helens, 
no  l^lusliinL;'  Susann.ihs.  no  militant  Jiuliths,  no  overwhelmed 
Sabines  here.  There  are  no  timitl  l^\es  or  secluded  antl  i)re- 
occupied  Ma.gdalens.  There  are  no  Dianas  riding  high  on  the 
new  moon;  no  wood  n\inphs  in  their  s\-lvan  bovvers;  no  mer- 
maids sporting  in  their  native  element.  Instead  there  are 
"Femmesau  Bain,"  "  l^TMumes  Nuees,"  "Femmesau  Miroir," 
"Femmes  an  B<niquet,"  and  the  like. 

Once  the  picture  suggested  the  occasion  of  the  nudity; 
now  the  nudity  is  the  confessed  occasion  for  the  picture. 
There  is  no  longer  a  use  of  the  nude  in  art;  instead,  there  is 
the  balil  and  inartistic  representation  of  nakedness. 

This  art  is  not  prurient ;  it  is  simirly  commonplace.  There 
is,  if  anything,  less  apj^eal  to  the  passions  than  in  much  other 
French  art;  it  lacks  even  the  negative  virtue  of  sensuality. 
It  is  simply  and  insufferably  matter  of  fact,  with  a  tendency 
to  the  abnormal.  There  is  no  attempt  to  bring  out  any  deep 
need  or  aspiration  of  human  life.  There  is  a  constant  search 
for  the  unusual.  If  an  elbow  can  be  obtruded  so  as  to  be 
visibly  ngly,  but  undeniably  accurate;  if  a  hip  can  be  thrown 
out  of  line  so  that  its  graceful  curve  becomes  an  angle,  and 
yet  show  that  it  is  probably  copied  from  life;  if  human  flesh 
can  be  placed  in  a  light  that  will  enable  the  painter  to  transfer 
it  to  the  canvas  in  yellow,  in  green,  or  in  red,  no  consideration 
of  ugliness  avails  to  deter  him.  The  object  so  "impressed" 
the  artist  and  he  painted  the  thing  as  he  saw  it,  "for  the  God 
of  things  as  they  are."  One  yearns  for  a  picture  with  a  soul 
in  it,  painted  under  an  inspiration  from  the  G(k1  of  things  as 
thev  ousht  to  be.  But  the  ideal  is  no  more,  and  the  realism 
is  of  a  morbid  sort.  One  of  the  comparatively  few  pictures 
in  which  much  thought  is  given  to  shading  ])resents  nude 
bodies  in  iridescent  lights  that  deepen  into  blues  and  greens. 
There  is  just  enough  verisimilitude  so  that  one  cannot  deny 
that  such  shades  might  possibly  be  seen;   and  this  is  the  mes- 


ACROSS   EUROPE 


465 


sage  of  the  picture — if  it  has  a  message  to  the  beholder — a 
screaming,  hysterical  assertion  that  it  is  possible  to  place 
human  flesh  in  such  a  light  that  it  shall  look  to  be  peacock- 
blue  in  color. 

For  the  most   part,  however,  there   is  no   shading  and   no 
mixing  or   softening  of   colors.      There  is   a   man   beside  his 


THE   .MArTi;i<ii(»KN 


horse;  the  horse  is  as  red  and  the  man  as  yellow  as  tin- 
paint  in  the  tubes  could  make  them,  liut  as  there  must  i)f 
some  high  lights,  and  it  is  impossible  to  find  paint  more  re«I 
or  more  yellow,  recourse  is  had  to  more  paint,  and  it  is  api)lied 
in  chunks.  High  lights  are  jnit  on  whenever  a  chunk  (if  paint 
under  hard  pressure  can  be  made  to  stick  to  the  canvas;  and 
the  yellow  man  is  made  yellower  and  the  red  horse  is  made 
redder  by  more  jjaint.  It  is  a  sim|)le  proces  .  What  makes 
more  noise  than  a  ])ig  under  a  gati  -  Two  pii; -.  I  li«'  wax- 
to  make  a  red  horse  redder  when  he  is  as  red  as  reil  can  be  is 
to  apply  more  red  paint,  so  the  picture  becomes  a  bas-relief 
in  scarlet. 


4(>6  VWV.    0\.\)    WOULD    IN     THE    NEW    CEXirKN' 

riicrc  is  a  p.issioii  lor  this  relief  paintiiiL;  in  ciiulc  colors. 
In  scttrcs  o(  pictures  there  is  no  use  of  tlu'  brush  \\hate\'t"r. 
The  palette-knife  beciMiies  the  sole  instrument  of  torture. 
The  artist  i)uts  in  his  transverse  \\a\}-  lines  of  ^reen  on  the 
bottom  of  his  picture,  and  fills  in  the  top  with  whatever 
comes  to  hand,  and  the  earth  and  the  .sky  are  created  and 
smeared  on  with  the  blunt  knife.  Then  if  he  can  <jet  paint 
red  enouyh  and  put  it  on  thick  enough,  he  will  paint  a  man 
or  something  else — all  with  the  palette-knife,  and  as  crudel\' 
done  as  even  such  an  artist  can  do  it.  Unless  the  palette- 
knife  itself  is  now  to  be  discarded  and  the  paint  squeezed  out 
of  the  tubes  direct  upon  the  canvas  and  the  canvas  spanked 
with  the  wet  palette,  there  is  nothini;"  left  so  far  as  the  tech- 
nique goes  in  the  way  of  crudity.  Already  there  is  utter 
absence  of  inspiration,  vacuity  of  ideal,  and  dearth  of  artistic 
sentiment.  There  is  no  appeal  to  any  fine  feeling;  nothing 
that  awakens  a  thiiU  of  joy  or  hope  or  generosity  in  one's 
heart.  At  best  there  is  only  a  mental  debate  whether  the 
thing  depicted  could  look  as  it  is  described,  and  an  occasional 
reluctant  confession  that  possibly  it  could,  but  an  assurance 
that  it  does  not  and  ought  not  to  look  so. 

There  are  pictures  which  show  ability,  but  few  that  display 
o-enius  or  good  taste  or  fine  feeling.  Some  of  them  are  diffi- 
cult,  and  with  old  Samuel  Johnson  we  "would  they  were 
impossible."  Some  of  the  works  of  sculpture  show  skill  in 
handling  pla.stic  material;  but  the  prevailing  taste  is  for  incon- 
ceivably hideous  nightmares. 

Morally,  the  exhibit  might  be  worse;  arti.stically,  a  worse 
collection  were  well  nigh  inconceivable.  It  is  simply  astound- 
ing that  men  who  have  ever  seen  good  pictures  can  produce 
these  daubs  and  think  them  good. 

Art  has  below  this  present  abyss  no  deeper  nadir  possible. 
There  is  an  utter  waste  of  an  acre  of  canvas  and  a  hogshead 
of  paint.  One  may  go  through  the  whole  dreary  wilderness 
of  the  exhibit,  not  without  some  little  admiration  here  and 
there  of  an  artist's  ingenuity  or  technical  skill,  but  without 
one  thrill  of  enthusiasm  or   impulse  toward   high   thinking  or 


ACROSS   EUROPE 


467 


fine  sentiment.  There  is  no  reverence  or  patriotism  or  sacri- 
fice or  love  or  heroism  in  them.  They  are  simph^  "studies" 
and  "impressions"  and  "effects."  The  exhibit  has  one  great 
merit  for  a  homeward-facing  pilgrim ;  he  can  see  all  the 
pictures  and  covet   none  of  them.      Happily  very  few  of  the 


THE    l.OLVKK,    1-AUIs 


paintings  are  marked  sold,  and  there  still  is  garret  room  in 
Paris. 

American  art  has  not  yet  passed  its  imitative  stage;  and 
each  new  thing  abroad,  however  transient,  if  f.iiil\-  representa- 
tive of  a  recognized  teiidencx',  is  studied  with  more  interest 
than  it  commonly  deserves.  lUit  it  is  hard  to  imagine  what 
any  American  artist  could  learn  from  this  display. 

The  impressionists  have  hai!  a  mission.  There  ari-  tints 
in  nature  which  they  ha\'e  discovered,  and  which  conventional 
art  had  overlooked.  Thev  have  taught  us  to  find  beaut\-  in  the 
fleeting  aspects  of  nature;  they  have  shown  us  that  the  w  hoK- 
is  greater  than  its  parts;  the)-  ha\e  protested  against  the  petti- 
ness of  that   art  which   concerned   itself   with   the   minnti.e  of 


46S  rui:  oil)  \\(»ui.i)  IN    1111    m:\\   ei;\' iikn' 

detail,  aiul  \\a\c  ascrihcnl  conu-lincss  to  thin;^s  in  tlic  mass; 
tliov  have  puslunl  up  the  iianuit  of  color  nearer  to  the  sunlij;ht 
Hne.  which  is  a  relief  from  the  i;ioom  n(  tlu-  middle  registers 
of  conventional  art,  ami  inv  this  they  deserve  our  thanks.  e\'cn 
thou<;"h  their  color  tones  pain  us  by  continuous  luUllin;^  on  the 
E-strintr:  the\-  ha\e  madr  for  dash  and  freedom  and  life. 
But  if  e\-er  a  tendency-  in  art  lost  its  centripetal  force,  and  went 
flying  at  a  tangent  through  asymmctr\'  and  mad  color  and 
reckless  disregard  of  beauty  and  of  motive,  that  tendency  has 
been  displaved  b\-  the  artists  of  the  Independent  Society.  If 
art  juries  and  hanging  committees  can  protect  us  against  such 
atrocities,  a   suffering   public  will    bear   their  tyranny  without 


murmurmg. 


I  suppose  that  Paris  is  a  wicked  city,  but  I  am  glad  that  I 
do  not  know  it  to  be  so.  It  might  be  less  wicked  if  tourists 
were  less  prurient,  and  if  the  guides  were  consigned  to  what- 
ever now  represents  the  Bastile.  I  am  reliably  informed  that 
a  large  proportion  of  the  vile  shows  that  are  exhibited  to  tour- 
ists are  not  bona  fide,  but  are  manufactured  for  tourists,  who 
suppose  themselves  to  be  seeing  Paris  as  it  is.  They  are  one 
with  counterfeit  curios,  and  should  be  despised  by  all  who 
love  either  purity  or  truth. 

I  begin  to  realize  that  my  references  to  guides  have  been 
somewhat  frequent!}'  uncomplimentary,  and  I  do  not  wish  to 
speak  ill  of  a  bridge  that  has  carried  me  over.  Guides  are 
under  peculiar  temptations,  and  seem  almost  everywhere  to 
be  subsidized  by  bazaars,  and  often  b_\-  less  creditable  places. 
Of  a  few  I  have  only  pleasant  recollections,  and  if  they  secured 
a  commission  on  my  small  purchases,  I  do  not  grudge  it. 
But  there  are  at  least  two  cities  whose  guides  I  had  little 
occasion  to  employ,  but  where  I  saw  and  learnetl  things  par- 
ticularly discreditable  to  them  as  a  class,  and  those  cities  are 
Naples  and  Paris.  If  I  were  seeking  a  guide  in  either  of  those 
places,  I  would  try  to  obtain  some  American  student  who 
needed  a  dinner,  and  provide  it  for  him  for  a  few  days. 

One  may  leave  Paris  in  the  morning  and  be  in  London  for 
supper.      There  are   at  least  three  ways  of  crossing  the  Chan- 


ACROSS   EUROPE 


469 


nel — Calais  to  Dover,  Ostend  to  Do\cr,  and  Dieppe  to  New 
Haven.  The  last  is  the  cheapest,  and  longest.  It  takes  five 
hours  to   cross  the  Channel   from  Dieppe,  four   from   Ostend, 


THK     I.M.MACl'I.ATK    C<  >N(   I.I' r  1(  )N,    IIV    MIKIIIO,    III!,    lot  VKK 


and  an  hour  and  a  half  fioiu  Calais.  We  had  a  L^ood  passage 
from  Calais  to  Dover,  which  was  well.  Some  of  those  who 
had  borne  a  good  reputation  as  sailors  on  the  cruise  had  an 
unexpressed  fear  th;.t  the\'  owc-d  their  good  fortune  to  the 
steadiness  of  our  good    ship,  and   chcrishccl   some  anxictx'  for 


t7i>  riiK  oi.n  \\()i>:i.i)  in  ■nil'  m'.w  ckntl'uv 

tlic  small  chamu'l  boats;  hut  the  Channel  was  as  smooth  as  a 
mill  i>oncl.  antl  .ill  i)(  us  i^ot  owr  nicely.  It  was  hulicrous  to 
see  some  of  the  passengers,  not  of  our  i)art\-,  hut  local  travel- 
ers, who  rushed  on  hoard  as  if  s^oini;  to  a  fire,  sought  out  the 
first  six  feet  o\'  vacant  bench,  and  la\-  d(n\  n  ilat,  nor  stirred 
nor  opened  their  e)'es  till  the  boat  tied  up  to  the  wharf  at 
Dover.  Such  is  tlie  result  of  the  Channel's  bad  reputation. 
Probably  the  passengers  had  learned  from  experience  to  treat 
tlie  Channel  with  respect.      I  ha\e  heard  that — 

There  was  a  young  man  from  Osteiid 
Who  meant  to  hold  out  to  the  end; 

But  when  half-seas  over, 

From  Calais  to  Dover, 
He  done  what  he  didn't  intend. 

Then  we  saw  London.  After  a  visit  to  the  Orient,  Lon- 
don seems  very  much  like  liome;  and  after  the  ancient  civili- 
zations which  cluster  around  the  Mediterranean,  it  is  very 
modern  and  up-to-date.  An  American  who  has  wrestled  for 
weeks  with  other  ami  xarious  languages,  singly  and  in  combi- 
nations that  would  i)ut  Isabel  to  confusion,  rejoices  in  his 
return  to  a  land  that  speaks  the  English  tongue,  even  though 
it  is  not  quite  so  well  sj^oken  as  in  America.  And  that  reminds 
me  that  I  saw  in  Paris  a  great  sign  advertising  the  teaching  of 
the  English  language,  and  surmounted  by  the  American  flag. 
The  flag  was,  in  the  thought  of  the  teacher  or  sign-painter, 
the  proper  symbol  of  the  King's  English.  Shall  we  come  to 
speak  of  it  as  "the  President's  English"? 

Everything  in  London  was  fitting  for  the  coronation  and 
doomed  to  come  to  unforeseen  grief.  Each  man  with  a  front 
window  overlooking  the  route  of  the  procession  was  advertis- 
ing the  window  to  let,  and  at  prices  that  raised  the  question 
whether  with  the  window  he  included  the  sale  of  the  house. 
One  argument  served  to  help  along  the  sale  of  the  seats. 
American  millionaires  would  take  them  if  Englishmen 
did  not.  One's  first  impression  was,  that  an  American 
would  need  to  be  a  millionaire  to  afford  a  seat,  but  when 
one  .sa\v  how  many  windows  were  offered,  he  began  to  think 


ACROSS   EUROPE 


471 


that    there    might    be   a   chance    for   one    of    more    moderate 
means. 

Although  the  thoughtful  people  of  England  confessed  to 
a  sad  feeling  of  contrast  between  Victoria  and  her  son,  the 
king  seemed  to  be  very  popular,  and  the  queen  still  more  so, 
with  the  people;  and  the  theaters  and  music  halls  were  dis- 
playing their  portraits  on  very  slight  provocation,  and  amid 
really  hearty  cheers.      The    British    people   love   the   idea  of 


THE    BOIS    DK    KOLOGNK,    PARIS 

monarchy.  There  is  strength  in  that  which  gives  per- 
sonality to  the  abstract  conception  of  nationality  and 
government.  In  some  respects  it  is  easier  to  sing  God 
Save  the  King,  than  God  Save  the  Coniinoiiwralth — the 
idea  is  more  tangible.  Kngland  has  been  so  long  without  a 
king  that  one  frequently  finds  "Ihr  Majesty"  still  wrilten, 
where  "Mis  Majesty"  ought  by  this  time  to  appear;  hut  <ine 
or  the  other  is  there  for  along  time  to  come.  I*' ranee  can 
never  afford  to  cut  her  republican  motto,  "  Liijerty,  IC(iuality, 
Fraternity"  very  deep  in  the  stone,  for  she  may  cease  to  be 
a  rei)ublic  whenever  she  wearies  of  too  long  stabilit)-;  but 
PLn<rland  is  wedded  to  the  idea  of  mouarcln-. 

I  was    in  the    House    of   Commons  when    Mr.   iS.ilfour   an- 


(7-  rill-.  OLD  woKi.n  IN    riii.  m.w    ci:Nri  k\ 

iuniiu-«.-d    lh.it  the  Uocr   ik'lc;^atcs  liad    left   I'l-ctoria  to  consult 
their   ctMUin.uulos   as    io  whetluM-    tlu^    terms    proposctl    by  the 
l^rilish    >4o\ernineiit    shouKl    he   acce])ttHl.       Mi".    Halfoiir  niade 
the  anmnineenient  (luietly.  and  sat  down  quickly.      There  was 
no   denionstiation,    hut    soon    a    \\his])ered    conference   bct^an 
anuMiL;-   nienihers,  which   ;^rew  more  exciting  as  they  realized 
more   full\-  that  the   ^nvrnment  made   this  announcement   as 
an    indication   of   gootl    prosjjcct    of   peace.      A  few   moments 
later,    as    I   passed   out,    1    met    Lord    Salisbury   entering   the 
almost  empt}'  House  of  Lords,  where  he  could  find  no  oppo- 
sition   leader  to  whom    he  could    give  a   hint   that   a   question 
would    bring   welcome    news.      Some    one,    generally    of    the 
opposition,    asks   questions,    ami    the    representatives    of    the 
governing   party  have   to   repl}-,  and   commit   their  party   by 
their  answers.      It  is  a  sad  thing   for  a  prime  minister  to  have 
a  fine  answer  up  his  sleeve,  and  no  one  there  to  ask  the  ques- 
tion.     But,  fortunately.  Lord  Salisbury  succeeded   in   getting 
a  question  asked   as  to  the  conduct  of   the  war  and   the  pros- 
pect of   peace,  and    so  made   the  reply  identical  with    that   of 
Mr.  Balfour.      Here,  also,  it  was  received  without  demonstra- 
tion.     But  the  newspapers  were  out  soon  with  large  headlines, 
and  the  people  were  talking  about  the  near  approach  of  peace, 
which  they  were  eager  to  see  before  the  coronation.      15ut  it 
was   the   coronation,  and    not    the   end    of   the   war,  that   was 
postponed. 

I  had  several  conversations  with  Englishmen  concerning 
tlic  present  good  feeling  between  England  and  America.  We 
ao-reed  that  it  is  well  for  us  to  know  each  other  better,  and 
that  we  are  in  process  of  learning  each  other;  so  our  good 
feelino-  is  getting  on  a  permanent  basis.  One  London  gentle- 
man said,  "You  know,  I  think  one  reason  we  haven't  liked 
you  Americans  any  better  is  that  the  Americans  who  come 
over  here  are  not  all  of  the  best  sort." 

I  thought  this  might  not  be  complimentar)-,  but  he  went 
on  to  except  present  company,  which  was  certainly  good  of 
liim,  and  to  give  some  instances  where  Americans  have  acted 
unwisely  or  worse. 


ACROSS   EUROPE 


473 


"But  then,"  I  expostulated,  "we  have  never  pretended 
that  all  the  fools  were  British." 

He  was  a  very  good  man,  but  he  did  not  seem  to  know 
the  answer  to  my  little  thrust,  and  so  \vc  talked  about  some- 
thing else. 

In  London  our  party,  converging  toward  Liverpool,  got 
together  enough  of  its  members  to  make  an  impression   once 


'•-  .-Mi»-rf!?f 


HOLYROOn    PALACE    AM)    AkTULKS    J^EAT,    EDIXBl  K(.ll 


more.  Even  Joseph  Parker  knew  of  our  presence,  and 
having  about  seventy  of  us  in  his  congregation  on  Sunday 
morning,  disregarded  the  others  and  preached  to  us. 

"Ah,  you  tourists,"  he  said,  "who  go  abroad,  and  boast 
for  the  rest  of  your  lives  over  those  who  have  not  had  llie 
money  or  the  holiday,  and  hoi)e  that  we  won't  attempt  to 
verif}'  your  statements!  You  are  always  growing  ecstatic 
over  the  wrong  thing.  \'ou  tell  us  of  the  ]*\'ramids;  I'd 
rather  see  the  Pyrenees!  There  ne\x'r  was  a  pyramid  built  that 
couldn't  be  taken  in  ,i  barrow,  bit  by  bit,  and  (hnnpitl  into 
the  sea!  Vet  \-ou  p.i\'  a  luindred  pounds  to  see  the  Pyra- 
mids!     You  eat  sandwiches  on  .Sinai,  antl  picnic  in  the  garden 


474  Till".    0].V    \V(^KI.n    I\    Till':    XF.W    CKNTURV 

of  ricths(.'n"iaiic  I  Wni  look  at  relics,  and  tliul  ihc  supply 
always  cqiMl  to  llu-  iK'inaiul.  \'(Mi  iua\'  sec  the  site  of  Calvary 
f(M"  a  shilling;',  aiul  another  site  ot  the  same  place  for  anotlier 
shiih'ni;.  anil  if  \-ou"\e  a  shilling  left  \'ou  can  sec  a  feather  of 
the  cock  that  crew   \\  lien   Tetei"  swore  1" 

Dr.  I'arl<er  had  been  called  upon  hy  some  of  our  number, 
and  told  that  many  ol  us  would  be  present  on  Suntlay,  and  T 
suppose  that  he  cherishes  the  conviction  that  he  administered 
a  needed  reljuke  to  a  crowd  of  unthinking;'  and  irreverent  tour- 
ists. If  Dr.  Parker  were  younger  and  more  docile  he  would 
have  some  things  yet  to  learn,  anci  perhaps  would  sometime 
make  such  a  tour  himself.  Meantime,  liis  words  have  a  certain 
spice  of  wisdom  for  some  kinds  of  tourists. 

In  the  woods  of  Wisconsin  there  lives  a  guide  who  once 
rowed  me  over  all  parts  of  the  lake  where  there  were  no  mus- 
callonge,  and  sold  me  three  tine  ones  at  night  which  he  had 
caught  in  the  earl)-  morning  before  my  arrival.  I  am  not 
disposed  to  tell  how  truthfully  I  displayed  these  fish  at  home; 
the  story  relates  to  the  truthfulness  of  the  guide.  He  has 
been  ev^erywhere.  It  is  impossible  to  name  a  city  where  he 
has  not  resided,  or  a  land  where  he  has  not  had  some  strange 
adventure.  Some  years  ago  the  connnunity  learned  that  he 
was  soon  to  have  a  birthday.  The  people  gathered  together 
in  advance,  and  added  up  the  years  of  which  they  had  heard 
him  tell — his  three  years  in  the  army,  his  four  in  Brazil,  his 
nine  before  the  mast,  and  all  the  rest  which  they  could  remem- 
ber, lie  had  a  gentle  intimaticMi  that  his  friends  were  about 
to  honor  him,  and  on  the  morning  of  his  birthday  he  shaved 
and  put  on  a  clean  shirt.  Sure  enough,  the  saw-mills  shut 
down  for  the  day,  and  the  people  held  a  ])icnic  near  his  cabin, 
and  opened  more  cases  of  canned  goods  and  bottled  wares 
than  was  their  custom.  After  the  dinner,  the  spokesman  of 
the  occasion  presented  the  liero  a  new  rifle  as  an  expression 
of  the  affection  of  the  town  on  his  two  hundred  and  eighty- 
ninth  birthday. 

I  am  sure  that  if  I  should  add  uj)  the  number  of  days  that 
I  spent   in  each   place   on  my  tour  through    luirope,  it  would 


ACROSS   EUROPE  475 

double  the  month  which  elapsed  after  leaving  the  ship  at 
Naples,  and  before  sailing  from  Liverpool.  j\Iy  only  excuse 
for  rifling  sixty  days  out  of  thirty  is  that  I  needed  every  min- 
ute of  it.  I  have  no  desire  to  take  the  reader  over  the  itiner- 
ary, but  only  to  say  that  after  four  days  in  London  I  set  out 
for  Scotland,  and  had  an  enjoyable  visit  to  Edinburgh,  two 
delightful  nights  in  Bonnie  Dundee,  a  few  hours  at  Stirling 
and  the  Battle-field  of  Bannockburn,  and  a  look  at  the  great 
shipbuilding  industries  of  Glasgow.  Then  I  took  the  little 
remaining  time  and  reveled  in  the  Burns  countr}-.  I  spent  a 
night  at  Ayr — 

"Auld  Ayr,  whicli  ne'er  a  town  surpasses, 
For  honest  men  and  bonnie  lasses." 

I  visited  Tam  o'Shanter's  inn,  and  drove  to  Alloway  Kirk 
and  the  bridge  where  Tam's  gude  grey  mare  left  her  tail 
among  those  souvenir-hunters,  the  witches.  Then  I  had  an 
hour  in  the  poet's  birthplace.  The  next  day  I  visited  his  old 
home  at  Mauchline,  and  his  farm  at  Mossgiel,  where  I  plucked 
daisies  in  the  field  where  he  wrote  the  poem.  In  the  village 
I  visited  all  the  spots  of  special  interest,  and  dined  at  the 
Loudoun  Arms  Inn,  which  Burns  used  most  to  frequent.  The 
landlady,  in  response  to  my  inquiries  concerning  the  pewter 
"stoups"  which  hung  about  the  bar,  identified  the  older  ones 
as  those  that  had  been  in  use  in  Burns's  day,  and  which  he 
doubtless  used,  "although  I  couldna  juist  say  that  he  drank 
from  ony  ane  of  them,"  she  added.  But  as  he  drank  more 
than  once,  inore's  the  pity,  I  doubted  if  any  of  them  had 
escaped  him  unless  it  was  the  smaller  ones.  I  offered  to  buy 
one.  She  told  me  the  retail  price  of  new  ones,  and  offered 
to  make  a  small  reduction  on  account  of  use,  saying  that  she 
had  always  before  refused  to  sell  them,  though  she  had  often 
been  asked,  but  that  now  she  was  about  to  vacate  on  May 
day.      So  I  bought  the  lot. 

Then  came  a  journey  by  rail  to  Dumfries,  where  Burns  is 
buried.  The  tomb  is  the  one  really  inspiring  marble  memorial 
of  Ikirns  that  I  saw.  Most  of  them  arc  spoiled  1)\-  misplaced 
classicism.      At    the    lailwa}-  junction    of    Lockerbie,   where    I 


:<> 


llll-    1)1  D    WOUl.n    IN     llll'    M'W    CIINITRV 


next  sto|ij>C(.l.  a  street  lair  was  in  pr(\L;ress.  and  slioueil  some 
interest  in;;'  phases  of  life.  lliie  I  proenretl  a  earriage  and 
drove  to  Ecclcfech.in.  the  l)ii  lliplace  of  Carh'le,  and  lii.s  place 
of  burial.  Then  eanie  a  journey  to  Liverpool  by  rail,  antl  as 
there  still  remained  st^ne  hours  before  the  ship  sailed,  I  made 
a  short  trip  b\'  lail  to  (juaint  okl  Chester,  and  then,  with  two 
companions,  took  a  drixe  to  llawarden,  the  home  of  Mr. 
Gladstone,  just  across  in  the  edge  of  Wales. 

I  am  not  pretending  to  describe  the  portion  of  the  journey 
after  lea\ing  the  ship,  but  only  to  tell  how  a  touri.st  with  a 
mi^nth  to  spare  may  use  it  to  good  advantage  between  Naples 
antl  Lix'erpool. 


««^ 


TWO    YOUNG    KO.MANS 


CHAPTER    XX\1I 
HOMEWARD    BOUND 

There  is  something  to  be  said  in  favor  of  superficial  sight- 
seeing. It  is  common  enough  to  read  in  some  pretentious 
works  of  travel,  the  little  jibes  and  slurs  at  tourists  who  "do" 
a  city  in  twenty-four  hours,  and  a  continent  in  a  fortnight. 
The  least  thing  to  be  said  in  favor  of  rapid  sightseeing  is 
that  a  superficial  visit  to  historic  scenes  is  far  better  than  none 
at  all,  and  that  most  people  who  do  their  sightseeing  rapidly, 
choose  not  between  that  antl  the  more  leisurely  method,  but 
between  that  and  no  visit  at  all.  This,  howexer,  is  not  all 
that  can  be  said  in  favor  of  a  pilgrimage  on  the  rapi^^l-transit 
plan.  He  who  has  a  short  time  to  spend  and  knows  it,  often 
hurries  to  the  scenes  of  real  importance  and  of  striking  inter- 
est, while  those  with  more  time  at  their  disposal  sometimes 
employ  it  in  desultory  sightseeing  with  comparatively  little 
method  and  purpose,  and  so  lose  in  the  mass  of  detail  that 
which  is  distinctive.  All  in  all,  it  is  far  better  to  see  things 
in  a  leisurely  way,  as  every  one  knows;  but  those  who  ha\e 
the  leisure  and  the  money  to  remain  ]oni;;  in  a  place  and  see 
it  to  their  heart's  content,  too  often  look  with  thinly  veiled 
contempt  upon  those  who  may  be  getting  the  essential  fea- 
tures of  that  which  they  have  come  to  see.  One  gets  out  of 
a  tour  very  much  in  proportion  to  what  he  brings  to  it.  lie 
who  has  done  little  reading,  and  u  ho  goes  from  place  to  place 
with  languid  interest,  may  squander  niucli  time  and  have  little 
to  siiow  for  it  beyond  his  jjurchases  in  the  bazaars;  but  he  who 
has  some  real  knowledge  of  the  points  visited,  ma\'  obtain  in 
quick  succession  the  most  striking  features  of  man\-  diffennt 
places.  Wherefore,  let  not  him  who  goes  abroad  often,  and 
tarries  long  at  each  place  of  historic  interest  or  artistic  fame, 
despise  him  who  takes  a  Ijrief  vacation  in  .1  liop-sl<ip-and-jump 

477 


■\7^         rnK  oil)  woKi.D  i\  tiik  new  century 

manner.      The   latter  may   be    taking   a   series   of   snap-shots 
w  hicli  w  ill  ilcwMop  well  in  later  months. 

Ihe  (>lcl  "i^ldhe  li'otter"  has  m.iiiy  interesting  stories  to 
tell  of  personally  contluctetl  parties  hurr\iiig  past  scenes  of 
trrcat  renown  with  hardK'  more  than  a  glance.  One  of  these 
described  to  nic  w  ith  great  gusto  the  way  in  wiiich  a  group 
of  lioston  girls  ilid  up  the  Uffizi  Gallery  in  Florence.  They 
all  wore  short  skirts,  and  iMpine  hats  with  pins  stuck  straight 
through  the  top.  They  also  wore  eyeglasses  and  cameras, 
and  followed  a  conductor  who  took  them  A\ith  great  rapidity 
from  rooiji  to  room.  In  they  bustled,  following  the  lead  of 
their  conductor,  who  gathered  them  in  each  room  around  a 
single  picture.  In  language  such  as  this  the  experienced 
traveler  quoted  the  guide's  description: 

"This  room,  ladies,  is  indicated  in  your  catalogue  as 
number  five,  and  is  devoted  to  paintings  of  the  Tuscan  school. 
This  picture  is  the  Nativity, by  Fra  Bartolommeo.  Whis-s-s-t !" 

The  final  exclamation  is  supposed  to  express  their  precipi- 
tate flight  from  this  into  another  room,  where  they  were  again 
assembled  around  some  masterpiece. 

"This  room,  ladies,  is  room  number  four,  the  Tribune, 
the  richest  room  in  the  world,  erected  at  a  cost  of  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  This  most  noted  work  is  the  Venus  de 
Medici,  which  was  found  in  the  villa  of  Hadrian  in  the  six- 
teenth century.     Whis-s-s-t!" 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  was  more  or  less  an  exaggera- 
ti'^n,  and  that  the  short-skirted,  Alpine-hatted,  eyeglassed, 
and  camera-laden  company  from  the  Hub  really  got  more  out 
of  their  exploration  of  the  gallery  than  the  more  experienced 
traveler  could  have  believed  possible.  But  it  is  better  to  go 
to  the  Ufifizi  and  see  a  few  masterpieces  and  remember  them, 
than  to  see  all  and  forget  the  really  great  paintings  in  the 
bewildering  array  of  only  moderately  interesting  works.  It 
is  not  necessarily  a  disgrace  that  one  sees  things  rapidly,  nor 
a  proof  that  he  can  from  them  obtain  no  benefit  for  himself 
and  for  others. 

Let  me  add  further,  that  a  very  large   part   of   the  benefit 


HOMEWARD    BOUND  479 

derived  from  trav^el  mii^ht  be  had  at  home  if  people  only 
believed  it.  The  woman  who  is  an  invalid  at  home,  but  is 
perfectly  well  on  shipboard,  would  probably  be  benefited  on 
land  if  she  got  as  much  fresh  air  as  she  does  at  sea.  If  she 
would  wrap  herself  in  a  steamer  rug  and  sit  upon  the  porch 
as  many  hours  a  day  as  she  sits  upon  the  deck,  or  walk  as 
vigorously  in  the  face  of  the  wind  at  home  as  she  does  when 
taking  her  daily  constitutional,  it  would  be  better  for  her 
digestion  and  her  disposition.  The  admiration  which  people  ex- 
pend on  the  moods  of  nature  in  foreign  parts,  also,  could  often 
be  duplicated  at  home  if  the  tourist  ever  saw  nature  in  the 
home-land.  He  who  stands  outside  his  tent  in  Syria,  and  re- 
turns home  willi  the  impression  that  the  stars  are  ne\'er  so 
bright  anywhere  else  as  in  that  cloudless  sky,  where  their 
brightness  shines  out  against  a  background  of  inky  black, 
can  find  nights  in  any  part  of  America,  when  tlic  stars  are  just 
as  bright  and  the  heavens  just  as  black,  if  he  will  but  shut  off 
the  gas  and  step  out  of  doors.  And  he  who  wearies  you  with 
his  description  of  the  glory  of  Italian  sunsets  and  the  blue  of 
tile  skies  of  Switzerland,  can  find  just  as  blue  skies  above 
Chicago,  and  just  as  glorious  sunsets  across  Lake  Michigan,  if 
he  will  only  step  out  of  doors  and  look  at  them.  With  our 
more  variable  climate,  more  patience  may  l)e  requisite  if  one 
would  behold  any  given  phenomenon;  but  if  so.  the  wiiiety 
we  have  at  home  is  the  greater.  lie  who  relleets  a  little 
about  the  things  which  have  interested  him  most  abroail.  will 
be  surprised  to  find  how  many  of  them  can  lie  obtained  .it 
home.  Nevertheless,  the  journey  is  well  worth  tlu'  making. 
The  return  voyage  of  the  Celtic  was  no  pait  of  the  organ- 
ized cruise,  though  she  hail  on  hoard  three  hunched  and  si.xty- 
two  of  the  formei'  Celtic  tourists  and  foity  additional  first-class 
passengers,  making  the  still  verj-  large  total  of  foui  luimlicd 
and  two  cabin  passengers.  Besides  those,  she  caiiied  two 
thousand  and  sixty-seven  steerage  passengers,  the  l.irgot 
number  ever  convened  in  a  single  voyage  by  any  vessel.  .She- 
had  a  crew  of  three  hnndrc-d  aiitl  foit>--seven,  making  a  grand 
total  of  two  thousand  eitdit    hundred  and  sixteen,  the   lar-'cst 


.}So         Till'  CI  1^  woRi.i'i  i\    I'll  I"  \i:\v  c'l'.x'rrm' 

number  oi  souls  cx'cr  canicd  across  the  ocean  in  a  single 
ship. 

The  iniiui^rants  as  .i  wliolr  were  a  line  \n[.  'l"he)'  were 
ahiiost  \\holl\-  n'ouul;  men  ami  women.  Somewhere  from 
Iwentx-five  to  twent}'-eii;"ht  wouKl  have  been  an  average  age. 
There  was  no  case  (~>f  illness  among  them — barring  slight  sea- 
sickness. rhe\-  were  a  health}',  sturcK*  lot.  At  Naples  we 
hail  seen  thousands  of  Italians  taking  ship  for  America.  Wc 
could  but  contrast  them  with  the  line  lot  of  people  wc  saw 
tlail)-  on  the  Celtic.  The  (Mie  class  was  dirty,  ignorant,  and 
full  of  latent  \'ice;  the  other  was  vigorous,  fairly  intelligent, 
and  energetic. 

The  countries  that  have  bred  these  stalwart  men  and  vigor- 
ous women  and  nc^urished  them  till  they  have  become  produ- 
cers can  ill  afford  to  lose  them  now.  The  country  that  receives 
them  adds  greatly  to  its  wealth  in  their  coming.  Day  by  day 
I  watched  them  at  their  s[)orts  on  deck,  and  studied  their 
faces  as  they  filed  past  the  half-open  door  of  the  lower  prome- 
nade deck,  and  there  was  hardly  a  bad  face  among  them,  while 
there  were  many  strikingly  good. 

Of  these  more  than  2,000  people,  135  were  American  citi- 
zens already,  and  were  returning  from  visits  to  their  old  homes. 
Of  the  remainder  25  were  /Vustrians;  26  were  Danes;  28  were 
Dutch;  46  were  English;  197  were  Finns;  5  were  Germans; 
I  lone  soul  was  from  Greece;  759,  the  largest  number,  were 
Irish  ;  314  were  Norwegians;  6  were  Russians;  3  were  Scotch; 
517  were  Swedes;  and  5  Welsh.  There  was  one  lone  immi- 
grant from  Sparta;  therefore,  on  this  tour,  Greek  did  not 
meet  Greek. 

Here  were  people  enough  to  fill  the  Mayflower  a  score  of 
times,  gathered  from  many- lands,  and  their  children  born  in 
America,  will  attend  the  public  schools  and  declaim  about  our 
Pilcfrim  Fathers  as  ardentlv  as  anv  native  American,  and  share 
■with  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  the  pride  of 
loyal  hearts  in  the  deeds  of  our  common  history. 

Those  who  feel,  as  I  have  often  felt,  the  jjcrils  of  our 
immigration,  would    find  a   study  of   the  Celtic's   steei^age  aiii 


HtJM  i:\VARU    BOUND  4S1 

encouragement  to  optimism.  With  a  great  price  some  of 
these  people  have  attained  to  that  wliicli  we,  the  free-born, 
may  too  lightly  value.  The  truest  descendants  of  the  Pil- 
grims may  sometimes  still  be  found  in  the  steerage,  rather 
than  in  the  first  cabin. 

Welcome  to  our  shores,  you  two   thousand  of  our  fellow- 


OUK    UECORATKU   BA(;GAGE 
Photograph  by  Miss  Anna  M.  Matthews 

tourists!  The  quarantine  regulations  shut  us  apart  <m  the 
shi[),  and  certain  artificial  barriers  of  society  were  between  us; 
but  we  liked  you,  and  ho[)c  that  \'<)u  will  think  as  well  of  ns 
as  we  of  you.  Vcni  are  Americans  now,  and  will  be  policemen 
soon,  and  aldermen  not  much  later,  and  some  of  you  will  yet 
be  millionaires!  May  you  find  what  is  best  in  our  coinitr\' 
and  prove  wortlu*  of  what  she  offers  you!  \\\-  |iartetl  al  the 
gang-plank;  we  shall  meet  at  the  ball<U-box,  and  may  be  \-ou 
will  out-vote  us.  If  w<-  K-t  you  do  it.  we  shall  deserve  it. 
W'cleonu'  to  America,  and  (  "umI  bless  you! 


.|Sj  Till-,    oil)    WORLD    IN     ril|-.    M'.W    CKNTURY 

W'luMi  w  c  left  tin-  (luck  at  l.ixcrpcMil  we  wcic  no  loiii^cr  the 
tiiniil  .uul  iiuiuirin;^'  creatures  who  luul  sailed  from  New  York 
in  l"el)i"uar\-.  We  kiu-w  the  shi])  and  its  ways,  and  were  not 
ii^'norant  of  the  world.  We  were  lailen  with  experience  and 
much  hand  ba£:^i;"age,  A\hich  we  sorted  out  w  ith  difficulty  from 
the  much  he-labeled  pile  on  deck. 

I'here  were  few  members  of  our  party  who  did  not  fall  a 
victim  to  the  label  habit.  Those  who  proved  themselves 
exceptions  to  the  rule,  pritled  themselves  on  their  strength  of 
character  or  sheer  obstinacy.  Every^  hotel  where  we  were 
quartered,  anxious  to  advertise  itself  by  the  travel  of  tourists, 
sought  opportunity  to  paste  labels  on  all  luggage  that  passed 
through  the  hands  of  its  porters.  Tiie  tourists  watched  their 
baggage  with  increasing  satisfaction  as  each  piece  took  on  the 
character  of  Joseph's  coat.  Those  who  were  wise,  laid  in  a 
supply  of  unattached  labels  and  saved  them  for  future  needs. 
There  were  some  of  us — and  I  was  among  the  number — who 
quite  despised  this  label  habit,  and  thought  it  a  vain  and 
foolish  thing  to  carry  around  a  bag  which  proclaimed  that  the 
owner  had  visited  such  and  such  foreign  cities;  so  I  stopped 
the  porter  in  each  of  our  first  hotels  as  he  stood  with  uplifted 
paste-brush  in  one  hand  and  label  in  the  other,  and  said, 
"Stick  no  labels  on  my  bag!"  I  carried  through  the  first 
part  of  the  journey  a  satchel  that  was  guiltless  of  any  con- 
tamination from  hotel  labels.  But  I  am  now  writing  my  con- 
fession that  I  did  not  maintain  this  resolution  to  the  end. 
Everywhere  we  went  some  of  our  party  were  sure  to  ask: 
"Did  you  not  get  any  hotel  labels  in  Athens?  I  meant  to, 
but  we  were  there  so  short  a  time  that  I  forgot  it.  Have  you 
one  to  spare?"  So  at  length  I  began  to  gather  a  very  few 
out  of  pure  benevolence,  as  I  assured  myself;  but  already 
Satan  was  at  work  in  the  matter,  and  I  was  beginning  to  fall 
a  victim.  About  this  time  I  ceased  to  forbid  the  porter  to  do 
his  pasting,  and  as  the  end  of  the  journey  drew  near,  and  my 
bag  showed  labels  from  some  of  the  cities  of  Europe,  I  began 
to  regard  it  somewhat  ruefully  in  comparison  witli  those  whose 
luggage  showed  that  they  had  been  to  Oriental  ports.      I  was 


HOMEWARD    BOUND  483 

not  the  only  convert.  All  over  the  ship  were  foolish  virgins 
who  had  taken  no  labels  for  their  bags,  who  now  began  to 
come  to  the  wise  and  say:  "Give  us  of  your  labels,  for  our 
own  have  given  out."  Such  an  exchange  of  labels,  and  such 
borrowing  of  paste  as  characterized  the  end  of  the  voyage ! 
As  the  good  ship  drew  near  the  shore,  and  the  luggage  began 
to  come  out,  there  was  hardly  a  mother's  son  or  daughter 
among  us  whose  dress-suit  case  or  portmanteau  would  not 
have  shamed  the  rainbow,  or  cast  into  the  shade  a  crazy  quilt. 

All  this  was  well  enough  while  we  were  together,  and  the 
only  sorrow  of  the  owner  of  a  bedecked  carpet-bag  was  that 
he  did  not  have  more  labels,  or  more  space  on  his  bag;  but  it 
was  somewhat  different  when  we  began  to  scatter,  and  each 
tourist  had  to  face  the  cold  world  alone  and  li\c  up  io  his 
luggage.  I  give  my  own  experience,  which  I  dare  say  is  fair]\- 
typical. 

I  was  leaving  New  York  City  and  had  got  as  far  as  the 
ferry,  no  matter  how,  without  any  undue  mortification  by 
reason  of  my  bag.  I  set  down  the  brilliant  article  against  a 
post  in  the  waiting-room,  while  I  stepped  across  to  get  a  time- 
table; and  as  I  turned  back  I  saw  two  men  examining  my 
bag.  They  stood  on  one  side  of  it  and  reatl  every  label  on 
that  side,  and  then  walked  around  to  the  other  side  and  read 
the  labels  through.  I  waitctl  aiul  ga\e  them  time.  Having 
completed  their  inventory  of  the  hotels  where  I  had  sta\-eil. 
they  walked  reverently  away.  Then  three  ladies  summ<Mie(l 
courage  to  walk  up  to  it.  'i"he\-  apjiroached  it  as  near  as 
they  dared,  and  went  off  saying  how  the\'  w<ndd  like  to  visit 
the  places  to  whose  existence  the  bag  bore  witness.  I  thought 
I  would  rather  not  walk  up  and  claim  I  he  bag  just  after  so 
many  j)eople  had  been  ins[)ecting  it;  so,  as  there  was  plenty 
of  time,  I  stood  and  waited.  There  was  no  danger  of  losing 
the  bag,  for  there  was  probably  not  a  man  in  thi-  waiting-room 
excepting  myself  who  had  c<»urage  enf>ugh  to  walk  off  witii 
it.  While  we  waited,  almost  every  person  present,  under 
pretext  of  exercise,  or  without  any  excuse  whatever,  took  a 
walk  across  the  waiting-room  an<I   ga\'e  my  decorated   satchel 


4S4  Till"    (^11)    \V(>R1.1>    IN     Till'    Xl'W    (.'I'N'ITRV 

a  more  or  less  minute  inspect ii>n.  It  l)eL;.in  to  occur  to  mc 
that  1  sIiouKl  ne\-ei-  he  comfortable  on  the  tr.iin  until  I  secured 
a  new  satchel;  for,  saiil  I  to  myself,  "If  the)-  tlo  such  things 
in  the  i;"rccii  tree,  w  h.it  will  the\'  do  in  the  dry?  If  in  New 
^'o^k  .uul  within  a  biscuit's  throw  of  the  salt  water  women 
show  such  reverence  and  men  such  possibly  contemptuous 
attention  to  a  bag  that  has  been  to  Egypt  and  Jerusalem  and 
certain  other  places,  what  will  it  be  when  1  reach  the  interior?" 

When  I  got  on  the  cars  there  were  people  who  went  down 
the  aisle  and  w'ere  tempted  to  sit  down  with  me,  but  looked 
at  that  bag  and  passed  on.  I  got  home  at  last,  and  it  is  ncnv 
safely  housed  in  tlie  attic,  where  it  attracts  little  attention. 
Whether  1  shall  ha\e  courage  to  take  it  upon  the  train  at  any 
future  time  remains  to  be  seen.  The  moral  of  this  tale  is. 
Get  your  labels  early  and  put  them  on  as  \'ou  like.  You  can 
buy  a  new  bag  if  you  want  to,  but  there  will  be  a  momentous 
hour  near  the  end  of  the  voyage  when  you  might  as  well  * 
appear  at  an  Oriental  marriage  without  a  wedding  garment, 
as  to  come  on  deck  with  a  bag  that  has  no  labels.  But  in  the 
first  lonely  hour  when  \-ou  board  a  train  with  a  satchel  that 
proclaims  \-our  itinerary  in  a  shrieking  chorus  of  color,  you 
will  wish  that  \'ou  had  dropped  it  overboard  outside  the 
harbor. 

We  made  a  cjuick  trip  across,  and  were  glad  of  it.  We 
had  packed  awa\'  our  guide-books  and  had  no  letters  to  write. 
The  diaries  were  long  since  forgotten,  and  the  cash  accounts 
were  too  far  behind  to  attempt  to  rescue.  The  passengers 
had  time  to  play  at  quoits  and  shuffle- board,  and  to  rest  a 
little.  The  nights  were  nearly  two  hours  longer  than  when 
we  went  over,  and  the  meals  were  eaten  with  satisfaction. 
And  so,  without  special  incident,  and  happily  without  acci- 
dent, we  arrived  in  New  York.  Among  the  more  than  eight 
hundred  who  sailed  on  our  cruise  and  made  the  pilgrimage  of 
the  Orient,  there  had  been  no  death,  and  no  serious  accident 
in  all  the  weeks  of  our  journey. 

As  soon  as  we  got  on  shore,  we  bought  .Vmerican  news- 
papers.     To  our  surprise,  nothing  seemed  to  have  happened 


HOMEWARD    BOUND  4S3 

while  we  were  gone.  We  did  not  appear  to  have  missed  anv 
issues.  The  Boor  war,  the  situation  in  the  PhiHppines,  the 
Presbyterian  creed  discussion,  the  debates  in  Congress,  \\ere 
all  where  we  had  left  them.  Things  began  to  happen  as 
soon  as  we  returned.  The  l^oer  war  came  to  an  end;  the 
situation  in  the  Philippines  took  a  marked  turn,  let  us  hope 
for  the  better;  the  Presbyterians  decided  to  modify  the  creed; 
and  Congress  adjourned.  This  made  us  feel  that  it  was  well 
we  had  stayed  no  longer;  and  reconciled  us  to  the  experience 
of  a  flying  pilgrimage  to  see  how  the  old  world  enjoys  the 
new  century. 

If  this  book  is  to  have  a  preface,  this  is  tiie  place  for  it. 
Prefaces  are  alwax's  written  last,  but  are  put  first,  in  the  au- 
thor's vain  attempt  to  square  matters  with  the  world  and  his 
own  conscience.  This  preface  shall  be  put  where  it  belongs. 
We  finished  our  journey,  and  came  safe  to  land,  anil  if  we  are 
not  thankful  for  tlie  tour,  we  ought  to  be.  The  discomforts 
are  forgotten;  the  delights  live  in  the  memor\-  of  all.  Is 
there  one  of  us  all  who  is  not  hoping  some  time  to  make  the 
journey  again?  I  have  told  tiie  story  of  our  pilgrimage,  antl 
here  and  there  have  slipped  in  ;i  little  information  about  what 
we  saw,  in  the  honest  endeavor  to  make  the  book  of  \alue. 
It  only  remains  to  add  a  benediction  upon  those  who  were  of 
our  party,  and  if  possible  one  yet  more  sincere  upon  those 
whom  we  left  at  home.  With  special  reference  to  one  of 
these  whom  the  writer  would  gladly  ha\e  had  with  him,  and 
wdio  was  in  his  thoughts  in  ever}'  hour  of  ])leasure,  this  book 
is  dedicated,  "To  those  who  t.irr\-  with  the  stuff." 

A  portion  of  the  contents  of  this  book  was  written  whiU- 
abroad,  and  sent  home  in  letters  to  The  lioston  Transcri])!. 
The  Chicago  American,  The  Advance,  also  of  Chicago,  and 
The  Oaks  Magazine  of  Three  Oaks,  Mich.  .Several  of  the  illus- 
trations first  appeared  w  itli  these  articles  in  The  Oaks,  and 
are  used  by  courtesy  of  its  editor.  Mr.  I'l.uil.  <  '"lark, 
organizer  of  the  Cruise,  has  furnished  me  a  number  of  cuts; 
and  the  White  .Star  Line  has  added  tin-  viiws  <if  the  Celtic  in 


486  mi-  oi.n  woui d  in    i-iii-  \i:\v  ci'.x'rrm' 

the  lirst  chapUT.  The  snap-sh^ts,  wlici'c  not  otherwise 
credited,  are  h\-  the  author.  These  pictures,  taken  untler 
\ar\inL;-  conditions  of  light  and  weather,  are  sui)plemented  by 
illustrations  ni.ule  fioni  photographs  w  hicli  I  purchased  in  the 
principal  cities  \isited.  I  cannot  well  give  credit  to  all  the 
intlividual  pluUoj^raphers,  but  I  acknowledge  my  special 
indebtedness  to  the  American  Colony  of  Jerusalem  for  photo- 
graphs of  Talestine,  and  to  l^onfils  of  Cairo  for  scenes  in 
Egypt.  I  also  greatly  acknowledge  the  assistance  of  several 
members  of  mv  own  party  whose  cameras  have  supplemented 
my  own.  and  whose  photographs  are  acknowledged  under 
their  respectix'e  illustrations. 

My  thanks  are  due  to  Miss  Helen  M.  Towle,  for  valuable 
suggestions,  and  to  Miss  May  Estelle  Cook,  for  the  reading  of 
the  proof  and  other  assistance. 

The  return  voyage  came  to  its  happy  end,  and  we  saw 
at  length,  on  Saturday  afternoon,  the  most  pleasant  of  all 
the  scenes  of  our  cruise,  the  Statue  of  Liberty  in  New 
York  harbor.  Glad  as  we  had  been  to  go  away,  we 
were  even  more  happy  to  return.  We  could  hardly  wait  for 
the  mail  to  come  on  board,  and  to  know  that  all  was  well  at 
home.  Home!  It  was  a  pleasant  word,  and  one  with  a  new 
meaning  to  us. 

There  were  people  waiting  to  see  us  when  we  arrived  in 
New  York.  There  were  many  of  them,  and  they  were  dressed 
in  blue  and  wore  custom-house  badges.  They  were  interested 
in  the  souvenirs  which  we  had  purchased,  and  examined  them 
with  the  care  that  betokened  long  experience.  We  had  a 
pleasant  visit  of  about  four  liours  with  these  hospitable  fellow- 
citizens,  while  our  friends  waited  outside  the  ropes.  But  at 
last  we  got  off  the  wharf,  thankful  to  be  in  a  land  of  baggage- 
checks.      America  has  no  more  proud  distinction  than  this. 

We  arrived  at  the  hotel  in  time  for  dinner.  The  elevators — 
I  use  the  plural  truthfully — were  capable  of  carrying  up  more 
than  three  persons  at  a  time.  This  was  a  glad  discovery. 
We  had  dinner,  and  went  to  our  rooms.  My  own  apartment 
had  six  electric  lights,  and  I  turned  them  all  on,  and  read  my 


HOMEWARD   BOUND 


4S7 


home  letters  by  their  noon-day  light.  Then  I  pressed  the 
electric  button,  and  soon  I  heard  the  answering  music  of  the 
ice  clinking  against  the  side  of  the  pitcher  as  the  bell-boy 
came  down  the  hall.  It  was  not  that  I  was  thirsty — I  only 
w^anted  to  look  at  the  ice.  There  was  no  need  to  show  it  to 
the  dragoman;  it  was  the  genuine  article;  I  was  really  in 
aVmerica.  I  rose,  and  pinned  above  the  pitcher  an  American 
flafj  that  had  seen  service  in  many  lands  and  waved  over  many 
seas.  Then  I  read  a  chapter  in  the  l^ible  and  my  railway 
ticket  for  home,  and  one  by  one  I  turned  off  the  electric 
lishts.  Then  I  thanked  God  for  the  journev  which  I  had 
made,  for  the  safe  return,  for  the  good  news  from  home,  and 
for  the  c'ountrx-  that  of  all  on  earth  is  best. 


■  V. 


■%y'  y 


^ 


v 


FINIS 


■■  \ 


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